Although the Society does not directly advise the public we have powers and duties which enable us to protect the public by our regulation of the solicitors' profession in Northern Ireland.

The Law Society of Northern Ireland was established by Royal Charter in 1922. It has an elected Council of 30 solicitors and employs qualified solicitors and chartered accountants to carry out its work.

As well as having a Royal Charter, Parliament has given the Society powers in the Solicitors (Northern Ireland) Order 1976.

These powers are to discipline, educate and control practising solicitors in Northern Ireland. We carry out that control to ensure that solicitors give their clients the highest possible standard of work.

Control of solicitors is mainly through the annual issue of a Practising Certificate to each solicitor. This is a licence which enables the solicitor to carry on his practice. To obtain a Practising Certificate each year the solicitor must:

1. File an Accountant's Report showing that all dealings with clients, monies are in order;

2. Purchase Professional Indemnity Insurance against any legal claims arising from the practice; and

3. Make a contribution to the Compensation Fund, which the Society holds to reimburse persons who have lost money if a solicitor is dishonest.

Complaints:

The Society has a dedicated department handling complaints against solicitors. Details of this are contained in our separate Complaints Leaflet. Briefly, however, the Society may direct a solicitor to refund part of costs paid or to waive the right to recover any costs if it thinks the client has been given inadequate professional service. The Society may also determine the costs to which a solicitor is entitled; direct that the work is completed in a certain manner, or that the solicitor must rectify mistakes at his own expense. Where a client is dissatisfied with the level of fee charged by a solicitor he may in certain circumstances obtain a Remuneration Certificate from the Society. Details of this procedure are contained in a separate leaflet.

Disciplinary Action

The Society cannot suspend a solicitor from practice or remove a Practising Certificate. These final and serious powers rest in a Disciplinary Tribunal, which consists of senior solicitors who have no involvement with the Society as such, and eminent lay people, all appointed by the Lord Chief Justice.

If the Society's Council regards complaints against a solicitor as sufficiently serious, the Society will prosecute an action in front of the Disciplinary Tribunal. Members of the public may also refer their own complaints direct to the Tribunal without reference to the Society, but the Society has a right to appear at any hearing.

Where the Society's accountants find financial irregularities in solicitors' practices we may "freeze" clients' monies held by the solicitors pending investigation of the complaints or irregularities.

The Society's accountant carries out a programme of random inspections of solicitors practices to ensure that files are kept in accordance with the regulations at all times. The accountancy team however are available to go into solicitors' practices on foot of complaints as a matter of urgency.

General

We are anxious that solicitors are kept as fully abreast of developments in the law as possible. For that reason we run Continuing Legal Education seminars, usually in conjunction with Servicing the Legal System, which is based at Queen's University Belfast. Special interest groups within the Society run seminars and conferences for their own members.

These organisations would include:-

• the Northern Ireland Young Solicitors' Association
• the Northern Ireland Solicitors' European Group
• the Northern Ireland Solicitors'Family Law Association and the
• Association of Women Solicitors.

All solicitors who set up their own practices or who become partners in other practices have to attend Practice Management Courses.

We have a very well stocked Law Library with highly qualified library staff. This stocks major legal textbooks, law reports and periodicals and is fully equipped with a modern computerised information system.

In the general public interest, the Society maintains relationships with Government, the Police and Prison Services, the Probation Board, the Lord Chancellor's Department and the Northern Ireland Court Service, to name but a few outside agencies.

We have an input into draft legislation and frequently comment on changes in the law, not only as to how they will affect solicitors, but how they will affect the public, who are solicitors' clients.