S.I. No. 845/2007 - The European Communities (Lawyers Establishment) Regulations 2003 (Qualifying Certificate 2008) Regulations 2007

1. This application must be duly completed by an applicant lawyer seeking a registered lawyer’s qualifying certificate who is intending to engage in the State during the practice year ending 31 December 2008 in the provision of legal services, whether as a sole practitioner or as a partner in a solicitor’s or registered lawyer’s practice or as an employee of any solicitor or registered lawyer or of any other person or body, including an applicant who does not require a qualifying certificate by reason of being a lawyer in the full-time service of the State

[within the meaning of

section 54

of the

Solicitors Act 1954

, as substituted by

section 62

of the

Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1994

]

or by reason of being a lawyer employed full-time in the State to provide conveyancing services only to and for his/her non-solicitor or non-registered lawyer employer

[section 56, Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1994].

2. The practice year coincides with the calendar year. A Qualifying Certificate must be received by the Registrar at the Society’s premises at Blackhall Place, Dublin 7, on or before Friday, 1 February 2008 in order for the qualifying certificate to be dated 1 January 2008 and thereby to operate as a qualification to practise from the commencement of the practice year 2008. A Qualifying Certificate issued after the 1 February 2008 must

[under Section 48 as amended by

Section 55

of the

Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1994

, of the

Solicitors Act 1954

]

bear the date on which the application is actually received by the Registrar. In April 2008, a listing of registered lawyers holding Qualifying Certificates as at 31 March 2008 will be forwarded to each County Registrar, District Court Clerk, Taxing Master and Bar Association.

3. The Registration Fee and the Compensation Fund contribution are required to be paid by each applicant lawyer seeking a registered lawyer’s qualifying certificate.

4. An applicant lawyer applying for his/her first qualifying certificate during the practice year 2008 may calculate the Registration Fee and the Compensation Fund Contribution payable by him/her on the basis of the number of full calendar months remaining in that practice year following the month of his/her application; and the registered lawyer’s membership subscription in respect of that practice year (or part thereof) shall be at the reduced rate of €20.

5. The second cycle of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) commenced on 1 January 2006 and ended on 31 December 2007, during which a practising registered lawyer is required to have completed at least 20 hours of CPD in accordance with the CPD Scheme, as provided for in

S.I. No. 37 of 2003

. Completion of Section E of this application is the initial means of verifying compliance with this CPD requirement. Each applicant for a Qualifying Certificate for the practice year ending 31 December 2008 is subject to this CPD requirement, with a limited number of possible exceptions. An applicant who did not hold a Qualifying Certificate in respect of

each

of the practice years ending on 31 December 2006 and 31 December 2007 or an applicant who was not admitted to the Register of Registered Lawyers prior to the commencement of the second cycle (1 January 2006) is not subject to this CPD requirement. Also, an applicant who has periods out of practice during the second cycle, due to not holding a qualifying certificate during all or part of this cycle or due to certified long term illness or being on maternity leave, would be entitled to a proportionate reduction on the 20 hours of this CPD requirement. For further information, please refer to the CPD section on the Society’s website (www.lawsociety.ie) or contact the Society’s CPD unit (attention: Alison Egan; tel (01) 6724802). An applicant should not return his/her CPD record card with this application. However, the Society may subsequently request sight of an applicant’s record card and/or further proof of CPD attendances during the second cycle as part of the Society’s CPD audit review process.

6. Payment of the annual membership subscription and/or the Solicitors Benevolent Association contribution and/or the Free Legal Advice Centres contribution and/or a contribution to the other community law centres is/are not a condition(s) precedent to the issuing to a registered lawyer of a Qualifying Certificate. However, unless a registered lawyer pays the annual membership subscription, he/she cannot enjoy the benefits of being a member of the Society as provided for in the Society’s Bye-Laws, including the right to vote in annual and provincial elections and the right to receive the Society’s Gazette. The voluntary contribution to other community law centres will be allocated to the Ballymun Community Law Centre and the Northside Community Law Centre.

SECOND SCHEDULE

within referred to

EURO

(a)

Registration Fee for the practice year ending on the 31 day of December 2008 payable to the Society on application for a qualifying certificate by an applicant registered lawyer admitted to the Register of Registered Lawyers three years or more on the 1 day of January 2008

€1,481

(b)

Registration Fee for the practice year ending on the 31 day of December 2008 payable to the Society on application for a qualifying certificate by an applicant registered lawyer admitted to the Register of Registered Lawyers for less than three years on the 1 day of January 2008

€1,176

(c)

Contribution to the Compensation Fund for the practice year ending on the 31 day of December 2008 payable to the Society on application for a qualifying certificate by an applicant registered lawyer.

€400

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of

4

th January

, 2008.

The Law Society of Ireland, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by the European Communities (Lawyers’ Establishment) Regulations 2003 (

S.I. No.732 of 2003

) HEREBY MAKE the following Regulations

Citation and commencement