Contents GazetteLawSociety Regulars Cover Story When saying sorry isn’t enough President’s message 3 14 The story of children abused in industrial schools touched the hearts of the Irish people. The taoiseach even apologised to the victims on News 4 behalf of the state. But, as Karen O’Connor points out, the shine of sincerity will fade from that apology if the question of liability Viewpoint 10 is not addressed Letters 12 Tech trends 30 A basic guide to discovery Briefing 33 18 Discovery is a central part of litigation, but some practitioners regard it with Practice notes 33 trepidation because it can often involve Legislation sifting through reams of documents. update 37 Eoin Dee discusses the essential Personal injury elements of discovery judgments 38 FirstLaw update 42 Eurlegal 47 The new meaning of master 24 and apprentice People and All solicitors have experience of apprenticeships, and places 51 their opinions can vary from fond memories of valuable learning Apprentices’ page 53 and personal development to flashbacks of disastrous lost opportunities. John Connellan looks at the relationship between Professional master and apprentice information 54 COVER PHOTO: [email protected] Equal measures 26 The sweeping provisions of the Employment Equality Act, 1998 mean that you could be advising a growing number of your clients on their recruitment practices. Michelle Nì Longàin explains what employers must do to ensure that their procedures comply with the legislation Editor: Conal O’Boyle MA. Assistant Editor: Maria Behan. Designer: Nuala Redmond. Editorial Secretaries: Catherine Kearney, Louise Rose. Advertising: Seán Ó hOisín, 10 Arran Road, Dublin 9, tel/fax: 837 5018, mobile: 086 8117116, e-mail: [email protected]. Printing: Turners Printing Company Ltd, Longford. Editorial Board: Dr Eamonn Hall (Chairman), Conal O’Boyle (Secretary), Mary Keane, Pat Igoe, Ken Murphy, Michael V O’Mahony, Vincent Power The Law Society of Ireland can accept no responsibility for the accuracy of contributed articles or statements appearing in this magazine, and any views or opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Law Society’s Council, save where otherwise indicated. No responsibility for loss or distress occasioned to any person acting or refraining from acting as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by the authors, contributors, Editor or publishers. The Editor reserves the right to make publishing decisions on any advertisement or editorial article submitted to this magazine, and to refuse publication or to edit any editorial material as seems appropriate to him. Professional legal advice should always be sought in relation to any specific matter. Published at Blackhall Place, Dublin 7, tel: 01 672 4800, fax: 01 672 4801. Volume 94, number 6 E-mail: [email protected] Law Society website: www.lawsociety.ie Subscriptions: £45 1 Law Society Gazette July 2000 President’s message Monkey trouble here’s an old saying that ‘if you pay efficiency because of peanuts, you get monkeys’. Well, not any- chronic staff shortages is more. These days, if you pay peanuts, you hitting people who have get nobody at all. Monkeys would be a suffered enough distress T bonus. already without enduring You only have to look at the current staff a further and shortages in the public sector to see the truth of this. unnecessary blow upon a In this magazine over the last few months, you will bruise. have read of the Law Society’s on-going concerns And then there’s the about the levels of staffing in the Land Registry and legal aid system. the consequent backlog of dealings. Currently, Elsewhere in these pages arrears stand at about 100,000, and the Department you’ll find a news story of Justice has admitted that the situation is likely on a new report on civil legal aid prepared by the ‘Many people to get worse before it gets better. Recruitment of society’s Family Law and Civil Legal Aid 60 new staff at the registry has been approved, but Committee. It forcibly makes the point that there are suffering it is questionable whether the department will be may be hundreds of couples forced to live in tragic needlessly able to attract or retain sufficient candidates to fill domestic circumstances for a year or more because these posts. of the huge backlog of legal aid cases. As the while we committee chair, Rosemary Horgan, says: ‘It’s congratulate The tiger’s soft underbelly important to realise that there are real human And the problem does not only lie with the Land consequences to an inadequately-funded and under- ourselves Registry: it’s the same story right across the public staffed legal aid service’. That sentiment could on how well sector. Some might say that this is an economic equally apply to all other parts of the public service. issue, the soft underbelly of our roaring tiger. But we are all solicitors – like other professionals working in these Another man’s wound doing’ areas – know it’s not as simple as that. This isn’t We’re living in extraordinary times. Exchequer about economics; it’s about people. Real people are coffers are bursting and the government admits it being affected by notional funding decisions taken by has more money than it knows what to do with. government. We’ve all seen how our clients have Well, we have some ideas about that. For a start, it been affected. could pump some of that revenue into the cash- Take the Wards of Court Office, for example. starved state bodies that really need it. It could Staff shortages there are hitting some of the most recruit sufficient staff so that these bodies can carry vulnerable members of society. People who can’t out the valuable work they are charged with doing. look after themselves. The least they could expect is And it could raise the level of remuneration right that an office set up by the state to look after their across the public sector so that it attracts and retains welfare should be sufficiently well funded so that it the brightest and best. can do its job. I understand the office is facing a two- There’s another old saying: ‘it’s easy to sleep on year backlog in bringing its files up to speed. This is another man’s wound’. Many people are suffering no reflection on the hard-pressed staff in the Wards needlessly while we congratulate ourselves on how of Court Office, who are doing Trojan work in the well we are all doing. This country, and the most trying circumstances. This is a reflection on government’s economic gurus, need a wake-up call. government priorities. The Probate Office is in similar trouble. Again, its Anthony Ensor, inability to function at anything resembling President 3 Law Society Gazette July 2000 News LIBRARY BOOK SALE The Law Society Library will Flood v Miley: Law Society have some old book stock available for sale in the library in the week starting Monday joins as notice party 17 July. Proceeds of the sale will go to the Solicitors’ he Law Society has accepted opportunity to do so again. Benevolent Association. Tthe invitation from the The society’s involvement in president of the High Court, this case is solely to uphold and LAW SOCIETY RETIREMENT Mr Justice Frederick Morris, to preserve the principles TRUST SCHEME be joined as a notice party to underlying legal professional Unit prices: 1 June 2000 the judicial review which has privilege and solicitor/client • Managed fund: 354.968p been initiated by solicitor confidentiality. The council • All-equity fund: 110.772p Stephen Miley of certain orders made it clear that by becoming • Cash fund: 178.740p made against him by the Flood a notice party and making • Pension protector fund: - Tribunal, writes Ken Murphy. submissions and arguments, the The Tribunal of Inquiry Into Law Society: acting as ‘a friend society is in no way supporting INTERNATIONAL CORRUPTION Certain Planning Matters and of the court’ any party on the merits of this SYMPOSIUM Payments has made a number of particular case. The society does An international symposium on orders against Stephen Miley interest. The society has been not support or wish to be the OECD convention on requiring certain documentation vigorously defending these identified with either side in this combating bribery of foreign and information in relation to principles from attack on a dispute but is making its public officials will be held in his clients, Jackson Way number of fronts in recent years contributions on an amicus Bruges, Belgium, on 14-15 Properties Limited, to be and it has decided to take this curiae basis. September. The conference, revealed to the tribunal. Mr organised by the American Bar Miley has opposed these orders Association, the International on a number of grounds, Video-link seminar a success Bar Association and the CCBE including an argument that the will bring together experts on documentation and information ary Hanafin, Minister of the OECD convention and should not be disclosed to the MState at the Department other anti-corruption tribunal on the grounds of of Health and Children initiatives. It will include solicitor/client privilege and (pictured right), was one of the discussions on money confidentiality. speakers at the Law Society’s laundering and bank secrecy At its meeting on 23 June, first-ever CLE video-link laws. For further information, the Law Society Council broadcast. The CLE seminar, contact the ABA’s decided that the society should Children and the law, chaired by International Law Section on seek to be joined as a notice Mrs Justice Catherine 001 202 662 1727 (web: party in this High Court judicial McGuinness, was held in Cork www.abanet.org/intlaw).