ANNUAL REPORT 19/20 REPUTATION / KNOWLEDGE / SERVICES ANNUAL REPORT 2019/2020 MISSION STATEMENT TO PROVIDE LEADERSHIP AND REPRESENTATION ON BEHALF OF MEMBERS OF THE INDEPENDENT REFERRAL BAR OF IRELAND, ENSURE THE HIGHEST STANDARDS OF ETHICAL AND PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT WITHIN THE PROFESSION AND TO DELIVER VALUED AND QUALITY SERVICES FOR THE BENEFIT OF MEMBERS 2 ANNUAL REPORT 2019/2020 CONTENTS 04 16 ORGANISATION REPUTATION 05 28 COUNCIL OF THE BAR OF IRELAND KNOWLEDGE 06 34 CHAIRMAN’S REPORT SERVICES 08 40 CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REPORT SPECIALIST BAR ASSOCIATIONS 12 44 PERMANENT COMMITTEES TREASURER’S REPORT 14 49 NON-PERMANENT COMMITTEES FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS 3 ANNUAL REPORT 2019/2020 ORGANISATION Council of The Bar of Ireland Permanent Committees Professional Education and Public Standing Library Finance Practices Training Affairs Committee Committee Committee Committee Committee Committee Non-Permanent Committees Criminal ADR and Young Bar State Bar Arbitration LSRA Circuits Liaison Committee Committee Committee Committee Committee Equality, Resilience and Personal Civil State Bar Diversity and Human Rights Performance Injuries Committee Committee Inclusion Committee Committee Committee 4 ANNUAL REPORT 2019/2020 COUNCIL The Council of the Bar of Ireland The Council is comprised of 24 members, elected and co-opted from the membership on an annual basis. The members of Micheál P. O'Higgins SC Conor Dignam SC Seán Ó hUallacháin SC Council, along with Chairman Vice Chairman Treasurer Committee members, give their time and expertise voluntarily, contributing to the direction and policy of the Bar. Denise Brett SC Séamus Clarke SC Sean Gillane SC Maura McNally SC Tim O’Leary SC Sara Phelan SC Elizabeth O’Connell SC Rachel Baldwin BL Mema Byrne BL Garrett Cooney BL Tracy Ennis Faherty BL Anita Finucane BL (co-opted Dec 2019) Moira Flahive BL Paul Gunning BL Dara Hayes BL Darren Lehane BL Joseph O’Sullivan BL Co-optees Aoife McNickle BL Patrick R. O’Brien BL Heather Nicholas BL Patrick Leonard SC Seamus Woulfe SC Attorney General 5 ANNUAL REPORT 2019/2020 CHAIRMAN’S REPORT Working together extensive engagement with our partners across the justice field. This important work continues, with the through an primary objective of getting the courts reopened and the administration of justice back in flow. extraordinary year The member survey undertaken in May 2020 indicated The Bar of Ireland, its Council, Committees that the impact on members’ income during the first two and staff, have worked tirelessly over the months of the pandemic was significant: 44% said that past year to advance the profession, and their income had fallen by in excess of 80% during that access to justice, in a vastly changed period. An additional 31% indicated that their income landscape. had fallen by between 60% and 80%. It is clear that this will be an ongoing challenge for members and the organisation over the year ahead. The Council and Committees Over the course of the last two years, I have had the The task for us now – individually and as a body – is to Administration of honour to witness at first hand the deep commitment seek out the opportunities within this crisis, and to build that Council and Committee members have shown to on our core values and resilience to shape a future legal justice must advancing the interests of the Bar, and to the profession. endure, especially constitutional role that our legal profession fulfils. Functioning courts during a systemic Across the 16 Committees – Permanent and Non- Our identity and the sustainability of our practice is crisis such as Permanent – and the various working groups and dependent on an active and functioning courts system. Covid-19. sub-committees that fall within their purview, members The administration of justice must endure, especially have directly shaped the issues and initiatives set out in during a systemic crisis such as Covid-19. Access to this Annual Report. Countless other matters and agenda justice – particularly in the area of family law, criminal items ‘didn’t make the cut’ for this Report, but they have justice and other constitutionally urgent matters – was a not gone unnoticed. I could not have fulfilled my role as core priority for the Bar. Thereafter, once public health Chair without their work and commitment, and indeed guidance allowed, our attention focused on the progress the Bar would function poorly if it was unable to call on of less urgent, but nonetheless critical, matters before their volunteerism and dedication. the courts and other legal fora. Impact of Covid-19 In advance of the Government lockdown, we established The speed at which the Covid-19 pandemic came upon our Working Group on Business Continuity, as a central us was a shock to our country and to all sectors of the point of contact to monitor developments across the economy. Our profession is no different and the ultimate jurisdictions and Circuits. Led by Sara Phelan SC, the impact of the crisis on our profession continues to Group co-ordinated contact with the Courts Service, the evolve. judiciary and other relevant stakeholders. A suite of submissions prepared by the Civil State and the Criminal Work done by the Council over the course of the State Bar Committees on recommendations for court pandemic took a number of different forms. Apart from reopening were also a vital resource in this objective. the paramount concern of members’ health and well- For many years, the Bar has drawn attention to the being, a central focus was our efforts to insulate and chronic need for increased resourcing of the Courts support members, as best we could, from the immediate Service and its infrastructure. If nothing else, the crisis effects of the lockdown. These measures included fee has thrown into sharp relief the urgency of ICT and reductions, enhanced ICT offerings and supports, and physical investments. 6 ANNUAL REPORT 2019/2020 CHAIRMAN’S REPORT Futureproofing the profession New developments introduced by the Legal Services Regulatory Authority The pandemic has taught us that we must be ready to adapt our working (LSRA) over the year, in relation to the Roll of Practising Barristers, practices and reassess old habits. Pre Covid, we limited ourselves to complaint mechanisms, applications for patents of precedence and a new meeting in and around the courts, or sometimes in solicitors’ offices. Now legal costs regime, have all required detailed and technical interactions a new vista has opened, which can supplement the previously with the Authority. This work was carried out on behalf of all members to irreplaceable physical interaction. Whether you are meeting in Distillery or ensure that they were informed about these important changes, and to in Tullamore, Waterford or the CCJ, you can also meet on Zoom, Skype or minimise any unnecessary administrative burden for colleagues. MS Teams. Barristers are interacting with clients in Brussels, London and These are just two examples of the Bar’s activism over the past legal year, right across Ireland. This willingness to adapt and freshen our methods of and elsewhere in this report members can view a range of additional interaction and engagement will be critical in the years ahead. submissions and engagements made throughout the year. The move towards doing more of our work online will undoubtedly The forthcoming Council – 2020/2021 – will, to my mind, have a strong precipitate new challenges. But it will also provide opportunities to mandate and unity of purpose to ensure that the profession continues to develop new areas and invigorate new approaches. The wrap-around occupy a leadership position in respect of the administration of justice in support provided by the ICT supports and the Education and Training the State. The new Council will strive to ensure that the case for barristers Committee in respect of remote hearings and the attendant tools has joining and retaining membership of the Law Library is as compelling into equipped our members in making the leap towards a future tech-enabled the future as it was at the numerous challenging junctures in the history profession. of the profession. European dialogue I wish to conclude by thanking all members of the Council, the Brexit, and its implications for the profession, has been closely monitored Committees and the executive staff, who over the past two years of my over the past year, not only by the Bar but also by a number of the Chairmanship have been hugely supportive and constructive in advancing Specialist Bars. The Ireland for Law initiative continues, and the The Bar of Ireland’s priorities. promotion of Irish (and European) legal services is a core objective of the Bar and the Implementation Group, in delivering for our members. With the UK’s departure, there will be a greater onus than ever on Ireland to scrutinise EU law proposals to ensure that common law principles are secured in the development of EU law, as they have been up to now. This onus to scrutinise also applies to the development of jurisprudence by the courts of the EU. Our relationship with key Governmental and judicial stakeholders will be instrumental in advancing this issue. Our policy and law reform voice – PI and LSRA The Law Reform Commission’s examination of personal injury (PI) awards provided an opportunity for the Bar to make a detailed submission on proposals for a maximum cap for catastrophic cases, and a proportionality test for other cases, taking into account the significant new arrangements for setting guidelines already provided for under the Judicial Council Act 2019. Micheál P. O’Higgins SC CHAIRMAN 7 ANNUAL REPORT 2019/2020 CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REPORT The value of membership MEMBERSHIP As at June 2020, in extraordinary times membership of the Law Library was This Annual Report sets out a detailed summary of what 2,127 the Council of The Bar of Ireland and its committees, together with the support of the executive staff, have done There were on behalf of members of the Law Library over the last year.