S.I. No. 561/2014 - The Solicitors Acts 1954 to 2011 Solicitors (Practising Certificate 2015) Regulations 2014.

1. The registration fee (A), the Compensation Fund contribution (B) and the Solicitors Mutual Defence Fund contribution (C) are required to be paid by each applicant for a practising certificate.

These are mandatory fees and must be paid before a practising certificate can be issued.

2. A solicitor admitted during the practice year commencing 1 January 2015, if applying for his/her first practising certificate during the practice year 2015, may calculate the registration fee, the Compensation Fund contribution and the Solicitors Mutual Defence Fund contribution payable by him or her on the basis of the number of full calendar months remaining in that practice year following the month of his/her admission, and the solicitor’s membership subscription in respect of the year (or part thereof) of his/her admission shall be at the reduced rate of €20.

3. A solicitor who has commenced practising during the practice year (after 1 February 2015) is only required to pay the practising certificate fee on a pro rata basis and may therefore calculate the registration fee, the Compensation Fund contribution and the Solicitors Mutual Defence Fund contribution payable by him or her on the basis of the number of full calendar months or any part thereof remaining in the practice year including the month in which the application is made. For example, if a solicitor commences practising on 18 June 2015, he or she will be required to pay a pro rata fee of seven-twelfths of the annual fee.

4. Payment of the annual membership subscription and/or the Solicitors Benevolent Association contribution and/or the Free Legal Advice Centres contribution and/or Community Law Centres contribution is/are not a condition(

s

) precedent to the issuing to a solicitor of a Practising Certificate. However, unless a solicitor 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 Community Law Centres will be allocated to the Ballymun Community Law Centre and the Northside Community Law Centre.

5. A solicitor admitted to the Roll for at least 50 years on 1 January 2015 is entitled to be a member of the Society without payment of a membership subscription. Therefore it is not necessary for such a solicitor to pay the €85 membership subscription when applying for a practising certificate.

Section K — Payment Methods

Please pay the fees due by cheque, draft or electronic funds transfer (EFT) as indicated on the application form. Debit or credit card payments will only be accepted through the online application and payment system.

If paying by electronic funds transfer (EFT), it is mandatory to complete and enclose the EFT payment form with the practising certificate application form. Failure to do so will result in the application form being returned as incomplete, notwithstanding that the fees due may actually have been received by the Society. EFT payments are more fully described in the general section of these guidance notes.

If paying by cheque or draft, failure to include a completed valid cheque or draft will result in the application form being returned as incomplete.

If paying by cheque or draft, you are advised to send your application and payment by registered post and keep a photocopy of the cheque or draft.

There is no discretion to waive the requirement for solicitors to pay in full for the practising certificate before the practising certificate is issued to the solicitor. The practising certificate will issue dated the actual date that the Society received the properly completed form and full payment of fees due. In this regard, attention is drawn to the deadline of 17 February 2015 for inclusion in the Law Directory 2015 which is more fully described in the general section of these guidance notes.

6. A solicitor that has not held a practising certificate in 2014 may be required to make a ‘Section 61’ application. Further details can be found in the guidance notes above.

7. This section applies to any solicitor that has been authorised as a personal insolvency practitioner by the Insolvency Service of Ireland in accordance with the provisions of the

Personal Insolvency Act 2012

.

Section C — Investment Business Services or Investment Advice

This Section is required to comply with The Solicitors Acts 1954 to 1994 (Investment Business and Investor Compensation) Regulations 1998 (

Si. No. 439 of 1998

) as amended.

SECTION C, PART I

Part I of this Section applies to a solicitor who is an investment business firm or an investment firm within the terms of

Section 47

(1)(

a

) or (

b

) of the

Investor Compensation Act 1998

.

Text of Investor Compensation Act 1998 Section 47(1)(

a

) and (

b

) is as follows

41(1)(

a

) A solicitor in respect of whom a practising certificate (within the meaning of the Solicitors Acts 1954 to [1994]) is in force shall be an investment business firm—

(i)

where the solicitor provides investment business services or investment advice in a manner which is not incidental to the provision of legal services, or

(ii)

where the solicitor holds himself or herself out as being an investment business firm, or

(iii)

where, when acting as an investment product intermediary in a manner incidental to the provision of legal services, the solicitor holds an appointment in writing other than from—

(I) an investment firm authorised in accordance with the Investment Services Directive by a competent authority of another Member State, or an authorised investment business firm (not being a restricted activity investment product intermediary or a certified person), or a member firm within the meaning of the

Stock Exchange Act 1995

, or

(II)

a credit institution authorised in accordance with Directives 77/780/EEC of 12 December 1977 and 89/646/EEC of 15 December 1989, or

(III)

a manager of a collective investment undertaking authorised to market units in collective investments to the public,

which is situate in the State or the relevant branch of which is situate in the State,

and shall be required to be authorised as an authorised investment business firm pursuant to the provisions of the [Investment Intermediaries Act] 1995.

(

b

)

A solicitor, in respect of whom a practising certificate (within the meaning of the Solicitors Acts 1954 to [1994]) is in force, who is an insurance intermediary or who holds himself

[or herself]

out to be an insurance intermediary shall be an investment firm for the purposes of this Act and shall inform the

[Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority]

and

[The Investor Compensation Company Limited]

that he or she is an investment firm for the purposes of this Act.

The terms of the description referred to in Part I of this section and the terms of the evidence in writing referred to in Part I of this section are as follows

8. Fee for copy of entry on File A or File B

The fee payable to the Society by a person who applies to the Registrar, pursuant to Section 17 of the Act of 1960, for a copy of an entry on File A or File B shall be as specified in the Second Schedule to these Regulations.

9. Collection and use of personal data

(

a

) The Society shall be entitled to collect and maintain personal data (“Personal Data”) relating to each solicitor, including but not limited to

(i) name,

(ii) practice address,

(iii) personal correspondence address,

(iv) telephone and fax number(

s

),

(v) email address,

(vi) academic qualifications, and

(vii) information concerning a solicitor arising from the carrying out by the Society of its regulatory functions under the Solicitors Acts 1954 to 2011 and regulations made thereunder, including sensitive Personal Data such as health records or information relating to the commission or alleged commission of a criminal offence.

(

b

) The Personal Data about a solicitor maintained by the Society may be used by the Society for administration, management, marketing, promotion of the solicitors profession and professional development purposes and in pursuance of the Society’s regulatory functions. Personal Data relating to any disciplinary processes pending or not yet dismissed against a solicitor may also be provided by the Society to the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board (“JAAB”), in respect of a solicitor who is being considered for appointment to judicial office by the JAAB.

10. Issue of duplicate practising certificate

Where a solicitor, to whom a practising certificate for the practice year has been issued pursuant to Regulation 4(

b

) of these Regulations, certifies to the Registrar that his or her practising certificate has been inadvertently destroyed, lost or mislaid, such solicitor may apply to the Society for a duplicate original of such practising certificate on duly discharging the fee specified in the Second Schedule to these Regulations and on duly undertaking to the Registrar that, in the event of the practising certificate as originally issued being subsequently found in the course of the practice year, that same practising certificate would forthwith be returned to the Registrar.

11. Where conditions attached to practising certificate

(

a

) Where a practising certificate for the practice year is caused to be issued by the Registrar to a solicitor subject to a specified condition or conditions, the practising certificate shall be endorsed with the words (adapted as appropriate): “Issued subject to [a] specified condition[s] as annexed” and the Registrar at the same time shall cause to be issued to the solicitor concerned a separate document (deemed to be part of the practising certificate) headed with the Society’s crest and title and with the words (adapted as appropriate): “Annexe to practising certificate of [name of solicitor] of [a] specified condition[s] attached thereto and applicable as and from [date of commencement of applicability of the specified condition or conditions]” and setting out the text of each specified condition.

(

b

) Where the Society gives a direction pursuant to Section 59 of the Act of 1994 that the practising certificate already issued to a solicitor for the practice year should, from a date that is 21 days after the date of receipt by the solicitor concerned of notification in writing by the Society of the giving of such direction, have effect subject to a specified condition or conditions, the solicitor shall (subject to the provisions of the said Section 59 of the Act of 1994 as to the solicitor’s right of appeal to the High Court), within such period of 21 days, surrender his or her current practising certificate, and the Society shall, as soon as possible, reissue the practising certificate endorsed with the words (adapted as appropriate): “Issued subject to [a] specified condition[s] as annexed” and the Registrar at the same time shall cause to be issued to the solicitor concerned a separate document (deemed to be part of the practising certificate) headed with the Society’s crest and title and with the words (adapted as appropriate): “Annexe to practising certificate of [name of solicitor] of [a] specified condition[s] attached thereto and applicable as and from [date of commencement of applicability of the specified condition or conditions]” and setting out the text of each specified condition.

(

c

) Where a practising certificate issued or reissued to a solicitor for the practice year is subject to a specified condition or conditions as referred to in clause (

a

) or (

b

) of this Regulation 11

(i) the solicitor concerned shall comply with the specified condition or each of the specified conditions, as the case may be, and shall ensure that he or she does not provide legal services to any client of the solicitor in breach of such specified condition or conditions, whether or not any such client is made aware of such specified condition or conditions, and

(ii) the solicitor concerned, in any display by him or her of his or her practising certificate, shall display with equal prominence adjacent thereto, the annexe thereto setting out the specified condition or conditions to which his or her practising certificate is subject.

Signed on behalf of the Law Society of Ireland pursuant to

Section 79

of the

Solicitors Act 1954

.

Dated this 10th day of December 2014.

KEVIN D. O’HIGGINS,

President of the Law Society of Ireland.

FIRST SCHEDULE

within referred to

FORM OF APPLICATION FOR PRACTISING CERTIFICATE FOR PRACTICE YEAR ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2015

And

FORM OF APPLICATION BY A SOLICITOR IN THE FULL-TIME SERVICE OF THE STATE FOR YEAR ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2015

SECOND SCHEDULE

within referred to

EURO

(a)

Registration Fee for the practice year ending on the 31 December 2015 payable to the Society on application for a practising certificate by an applicant solicitor who has been admitted to the Roll for three years or more on the 1 January 2015

€1,375.00

(b)

Registration Fee for the practice year ending on the 31 December 2015 payable to the Society on application for a practising certificate by an applicant solicitor who has been admitted to the Roll for less than three years on the 1 January 2015

€1,075.00

(c)

Contribution to the Compensation Fund for the practice year ending on the 31 December 2015 payable to the Society on application for a practising certificate by an applicant solicitor

€760.00

(d)

Contribution for the Solicitors Mutual Defence Fund Limited for the practice year ending on the 31 December 2015 payable to the Society on application for a practising certificate by an applicant solicitor

€200.00

(d)

Fee payable to the Society on each application, pursuant to

Section 17

of the

Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1960

, for a copy of an entry on File A or File B

€100.00

(e)

Fee payable to the Society on each application, pursuant to Regulation 8 of these Regulations, for the issue of a duplicate original practising certificate for the practice year.

€50.00

THIRD SCHEDULE

within referred to

Law Society of Ireland

Practising Certificate Application

for the practice year ending 31 December 2015

GUIDANCE NOTES

GENERAL

Why you need a practising certificate

It is the statutory responsibility of each solicitor to ensure that he or she has a practising certificate in place before providing legal services of any kind whatsoever, either restricted or non-restricted. It is professional misconduct and a criminal offence for a solicitor (other than a solicitor in the full-time service of the State or a solicitor solely engaging in conveyancing services for a non-solicitor employer) to practise without a practising certificate. A solicitor shall be deemed to practise as a solicitor if he or she engages in the provision of legal services. ‘Legal services’ are services of a legal or financial nature provided by a solicitor arising from that solicitor’s practice as a solicitor.

It should be noted that it is not permissible for a firm to classify a solicitor employed by a firm as a ‘legal executive’ or ‘paralegal’ with a view to avoiding the requirement to hold a practising certificate if the solicitor is engaged in the provision of legal services.

It should be noted that in-house solicitors are required to hold a practising certificate.

The actions that can be taken against a solicitor found to be practising without a practising certificate include a referral to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, an application to the High Court, and a report to An Garda Siochana.

Practising certificate application forms and fees

Application forms will be issued after 15 December 2014. Application forms for solicitors in private practice will be forwarded to the principal or the managing partner in each practice, rather than to each solicitor. Application forms for in-house solicitors are sent for their attention directly.

The practising certificate application form is available online to download, and to pay and submit online.

The practising fees due for the year are set out in the application form. Please note that as payment of practising certificate fees is a statutory obligation rather than the discharge of a bill for services provided the Society does not furnish invoices in respect of practising certificate fees payable notwithstanding any company policy that may require invoices.

When you must apply

A practising certificate must be applied for on or before 1 February in each year in order to be dated 1 January of that year and thereby operate as a qualification to practise from the commencement of the year.

It is therefore a legal requirement for a practising solicitor to deliver, or cause to be delivered, to the Registrar of Solicitors, on or before 1 February 2015, an application in the prescribed form correctly completed and signed by the applicant solicitor personally, together with the full appropriate fee.

It is the responsibility of each solicitor to ensure that he or she obtains a practising certificate application form, properly completes same and delivers such application form to the Law Society with full payment on or before 1 February 2015.

Applications should be delivered to: Regulation Department, Law Society of Ireland, George’s Court, George’s Lane, Dublin 7; DX 1025 Four Courts. It should be noted that 1 February 2015 falls on a Sunday.

A valid practising certificate application consists of a properly completed application form together with full payment. It should be noted that any incorrectly completed application form, or applications without full payment attached (or properly completed EFT form attached), will be considered to be an incomplete application, cannot be processed and will be returned. Practising certificates will be dated the date that the Society actually receives a properly completed application with full payment.

Therefore, solicitors are strongly advised to read and take full account of the practising certificate application form guidance notes when completing the form and are required to ensure that the Society receives full payment of the fees due (and properly completed EFT form if applicable) with the application form.

What happens if you apply late?

Any applications for practising certificates that are received after 1 February 2015 will result in the practising certificates being dated the date of actual receipt by the Registrar of Solicitors, rather than 1 January 2015. There is no legal power to allow any period of grace under any circumstances whatsoever.

Please note that, as mentioned previously, it is professional misconduct and a criminal offence to provide legal services as a solicitor without a practising certificate in force. Therefore, solicitors whose properly completed practising certificate application forms and payment are received after 1 February 2015 and whose practising certificates are therefore dated after 1 February 2015, who have provided legal services before that date, must make an application to the President of the High Court to have their practising certificates backdated to 1 January 2015. Further information on backdating practising certificates can be obtained from the Practice Regulation Section of the Society by emailing

pc@lawsociety.ie

. It should be noted that the Society will seek its costs of €350 per practising certificate backdated in all cases.

The Regulation of Practice Committee is the regulatory committee of the Society that has responsibility for supervising compliance with practising certificate requirements. A special meeting of this committee will be held on a date after 1 February 2015, to be decided at a later date, to consider any late or unresolved applications for practising certificates. At this meeting, any practising solicitors who have not applied by that date for a practising certificate will be considered for referral forthwith to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and will be informed that the Society reserves the right to take proceedings for an order under section 18 of the

Solicitors (Amendment) Act 2002

to prohibit them from practising illegally.

If you are an employed solicitor

Solicitors who are employed should note that it is the statutory obligation of every solicitor who requires a practising certificate to ensure that he or she has a practising certificate in force from the commencement of the year, or from the date at which he or she commenced providing legal services in that year.

Employed solicitors cannot absolve themselves from this responsibility by relying on their employers to procure their practising certificates. However, it is the Society’s recommendation that all employers should pay for the practising certificate of solicitors employed by them.

Please note that the practising certificate remains the property of the solicitor, regardless of who has paid for the practising certificate.

If you are a solicitor in the full-time service of the State

There is a specially adapted application form for solicitors in the full-time service of the State.

In accordance with

section 54

of the

Solicitors Act 1954

as amended by

section 62

of the

Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1994

, a solicitor shall be regarded as a solicitor in the full-time service of the State if and while he or she is required to devote the whole of his or her time to the service of the State as solicitor, and is remunerated in respect of such service wholly out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

Some of your details are already on the application form

The practising certificate application form will be issued with certain information relating to each solicitor’s practice already completed. Such information will include the relevant fees due by each solicitor and where applicable, provided date of birth has been notified to the Society, will include allowance for those solicitors of 70 years or over, to take account of the fact that they will not be covered under the provisions of the Solicitors’ Group Life Cover Scheme.

Payment by electronic funds transfer (EFT)

All practising certificate application forms sent out will include an EFT payment form. Any solicitor wishing to pay the practising certificate fee by EFT must complete and return the EFT payment form with their practising certificate application form.

Failure to do so will result in the application form being returned as incomplete, notwithstanding that the fees due may actually have been received by the Society.

Each EFT payment must have an easily identifiable specific reference, such as the firm or company name, the solicitor’s name or the solicitor’s number. General references, such as ‘Law Society’ or ‘practising certificate’ will not be accepted and may result in a significant delay in the issuing of the practising certificate as the Society may not be able to identify your specific payment without an easily identifiable specific reference. The payment reference used must be included in the EFT form. Failure to include this information will result in the application form being returned as incomplete, notwithstanding that the fees due may actually have been received by the Society.

The Society’s bank account details are included in the EFT payment form. The Society cannot be held responsible for any delay which occurs in processing applications to obtain a practising certificate where payment has been forwarded to another Law Society account which does not deal with practising certificate/membership fees. You are required to ensure that the monies have been sent to the correct account as listed in the EFT payment form regardless of which account you sent the fees to in previous years.

Law Directory 2015

It is intended that the Law Directory 2015 will note all solicitors who have been issued with a practising certificate by 17 February 2015. Practising certificates can only be issued following receipt of a properly completed application form together with full payment, with no outstanding queries raised thereon.

It should be noted that only those solicitors with practising certificates

issued

by 17 February 2015 will be included in the Law Directory, not every solicitor who has submitted an application form by 17 February 2015.

Therefore, in order to ensure that your practising certificate issues by 17 February 2015 to enable you to be included in the Law Directory, you should ensure that the application form you return to the Society is completed correctly and includes full payment of fees due.

If the form is not completed correctly, or fees have not been paid in full or the EFT form has not be included in the case of EFT payments (notwithstanding that the fees due may actually have been received by the Society), it will be necessary for the Society to return the form, which may result in delaying the issue of your practising certificate, despite the fact that you had applied for the practising certificate prior to 17 February 2015.

The details of any solicitor whose practising certificate issues after 17 February 2015 will not be included in the Law Directory, but will be included in the ‘Find a Solicitor’ search facility on the Society’s website, provided the solicitor is a practising solicitor. A practising solicitor is a solicitor with a current practising certificate and either professional indemnity insurance in place or an exemption from holding professional indemnity insurance as a solicitor employee of a non-solicitor employer.

What you can access on the website (

www.lawsociety.ie

)

Your individual pre-populated application form and a blank editable application form will also become available on the members’ area of the Law Society web-site after 15 December 2014, which you can complete online prior to printing a copy for signing and returning to the Society with the full appropriate fee. This area is accessible by using your username and password.

If you require assistance, please visit www.lawsociety.ie/help. In addition, you may request a form to be emailed to you by emailing

pc@lawsociety.ie

.

If you did not hold a practising certificate for 2014

If you did not hold a practising certificate for 2014 (with the exception of solicitors in the full-time service of the State in 2014 and solicitors solely engaging in conveyancing services for a non-solicitor employer), and apply for a practising certificate in 2015, you may be required to make a “section 61” application, in accordance with

section 49

of the

Solicitors Act 1954

as substituted by

section 61

of the

Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1994

, setting out in writing how you kept up to date with legal matters since you were last issued with a practising certificate.

Solicitors who have not held a practising certificate for 3 years or more prior to the date of application for a practising certificate in 2015 will be required to make a section 61 application, and this application should be included with your practising certificate application. If your application is received without a section 61 application, the application will be considered to be incomplete and will not be processed until such time as the section 61 application is received.

Solicitors who have held a practising certificate within 3 years of the date of application for a practising certificate in 2015, but did not hold a practising certificate in 2014, should enquire whether they are required to submit a section 61 application by emailing the Society at

pc@renewals.ie

.

The Section 61 application form is available to download in the member’s area of the Society’s website, or can be requested by emailing

pc@renewals.ie

.

Change of practising status

If you held a practising certificate in 2014, and do not intend to practise for some or all of 2015, including the following situations, you should notify the Society in writing with the relevant details before 1 February 2015

• you recently ceased to practise, or are intending to cease to practise in the coming year;

• you will not be practising in 2015 for any reason, including unemployment, career break, change of career, emigration, sick leave or maternity leave; or

• you will not be providing legal services, and will therefore not be applying for a practising certificate until after 1 February 2015 for any reason, including unemployment, career break, sick leave and maternity leave.

You should provide the Society with a current correspondence address and email address to allow the Society to communicate with you if you are not practising.

If there is any change in your practising status during the year, you should immediately notify the Society in writing with the relevant information to ensure that your practising status is up to date.

Change of practice

If you have changed firms during the year, and have not previously notified the Society in writing of this change, you must do so immediately, in accordance with the provisions of

section 81

of the

Solicitors Act 1954

. You should include the date you left your former firm, and the date you joined your new firm, together with the name and address of the new firm. The same requirement applies for any solicitor who has changed non-solicitor employer.

Failure to provide this information before 5 December 2014 may result in your practising certificate application form and information being sent to your former practice, as the Society will not have your up-to-date contact information.

You can check the current contact information for you held by the Society through the ‘Find a Solicitor’ search facility on the Society’s website.

Acknowledgement of application forms

Please note that it is not the Society’s policy to acknowledge receipt of application forms or fee payments. If in doubt that your application form will arrive on time, or at all, send by registered post, tracked DX or courier.

Issuing a practising certificate

Please note that acceptance of an application form and fees by the Society does not constitute a guarantee or agreement that a practising certificate will be issued. There are a number of factors that may result in the Society deciding not to issue a solicitor with a practising certificate, including matters arising under

section 49

of the

Solicitors Act 1954

, as substituted by

section 61

of the

Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1994

, as amended by

section 2

of the

Solicitors (Amendment) Act 2002

. If a practising certificate is not issued to a solicitor, the relevant fees will be refunded.

Duplicate practising certificate

Please note that a fee of €50 will be payable in respect of each duplicate practising certificate issued for any purpose.

Refund of practising certificate fees

Solicitors may only be issued with one practising certificate in any practice year. A practising certificate is a licence to practise and remains in force whether or not the solicitor chooses to practise. The issue date of the practising certificate is the date on which the practising certificate comes into force until the 31 December in the same practice year and indicates the date from which you are reflected as practising on the Society records.

If you cease to practice during the practice year, including for reasons of sick leave or maternity leave, and will not be practising for the rest of the year, you may surrender your practising certificate and apply to the Society for an ex gratia refund of your practising certificate fees for the remainder of the year.

In order to be considered for a refund of your practising certificate fees you must ensure that

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of

12

th December

, 2014.

The Law Society of Ireland, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by

Section 47

of the

Solicitors Act, 1954

(as substituted by

Section 54

of the

Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1994

),

Section 82

of the

Solicitors Act, 1954

and

Section 22

of the

Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1960

(as substituted by

Section 30

of the

Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1994

) hereby make the following Regulations