S.I. No. 344/1988 - Solicitors (Advertising) Regulations, 1988.

S.I. No. 344 of 1988.

SOLICITORS (ADVERTISING) REGULATIONS, 1988.

The Incorporated Law Society of Ireland, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Sections 5 and 71 of the Solicitors Act, 1954 (No. 36 of 1954), hereby makes the following regulations:

1. (1) These regulations may be cited as the Solicitors (Advertising) Regulations, 1988.

(2) These regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of January 1989.

2. The Solicitors Act, 1954 (Professional Practice, Conduct and Discipline) Regulations, 1955 ( S.I. No. 151 of 1955 ), and the Solicitors (Professional Practice, Conduct and Discipline) (Amendment) Regulations, 1971 ( S.I. No. 344 of 1971 ), are hereby revoked.

3. (1) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

"the Act of 1954" means the Solicitors Act, 1954 ;

"the Act of 1960" means the Solicitors (Amendment) Act, 1960 ;

"advertisement", unless the context otherwise requires, refers to any form of advertisement and includes, inter alia, brochures, directory entries, stationery and press releases promoting a solicitor's practice; and "advertise" shall be likewise construed;

"client" includes prospective client;

"the Council" means the Council of the Society;

"the Disciplinary Committee" means the Disciplinary Committee appointed pursuant to section 6 of the Act of 1960;

"the Director General" means the Director General of the Society and includes any person authorised by the Council to act on behalf of the Director General;

"established client" means a person for whom a solicitor has acted on at least one previous occasion, but does not include a person—

(a) whom the solicitor knows, or ought reasonably to know, to be exclusively a client of another solicitor; or

(b) for whom the solicitor has acted only on the instructions of another solicitor;

"practice" means professional practice of a solicitor and includes any area of practice;

"services" means services of a legal nature provided by a solicitor, and includes any part of such services;

"the Society" means the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland;

"solicitor" means a solicitor qualified to practise in the State pursuant to section 54 of the Act of 1954, and includes a firm of solicitors and any partnership or association of solicitors;

"the State" means the Republic of Ireland;

"touting" means a direct approach by or on behalf of a solicitor to a person, who is not an established client, with the intention of soliciting business from that person.

(2) The Interpretation Act 1937 applies to the interpretation of these regulations as it applies to the interpretation of an act of the Oireachtas.

4. A solicitor shall not apply for or seek instructions for business in such a manner, or do or permit in the carrying on of his practice any such act or thing, as may be reasonably be regarded as touting or as calculated to attract business unfairly.

5. A solicitor may, if so requested by or on behalf of any person, provide him with a statement of proposed fees in relation to any services he is willing to provide.

6. (1) Subject to regulation 7 hereof, a solicitor shall be entitled to advertise his services in any way he thinks fit, including by means of general circulation of printed material.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1) of this regulation, a solicitor may—

(a) advertise on television and/or radio;

(b) advertise in any newspaper, periodical, directory or other generally acceptable publication;

(c) advertise by way of publicity poster, sign, placard or emblem;

(d) advertise by means of general circulation of printed material, including brochures, circular letters and/or pamphlets;

(e) appear on television or radio or at any public function and be introduced by his name and professional qualification;

(f) write articles in any newspaper, periodical, directory or other generally acceptable publication under his name and professional qualification;

(g) comment in public on matters in which he is professionally retained, provided that he has obtained the prior written consent of his client to do so;

(h) claim superiority for the quality of his practice or services over those of, or offered by, other persons who are not solicitors;

(i) state in any advertisement that a written statement of proposed fees and/or a free first professional consultation would be provided to any person upon request in relation to any services he is willing to provide.

7. An advertisement of or by a solicitor shall not—

(1) claim superiority for the quality of his practice or services over those of, or offered by, other solicitors; or

(2) claim specialist knowledge of any particular area of law or practice; or

(3) contain a criticism of other solicitors; or

(4) compare his fees with those of other solicitors; or

(5) specify a fee for any services he is willing to provide;

(6) make reference in relation to any practice to—

(a) volume of business or fee income;

(b) the identity of any client except where this is appropriate in any matter which, in the normal course of his practice, the solicitor is instructed by that client to advertise; or

(c) any item of business except that which, in the normal course of his practice, he is instructed by a client to advertise; or

(d) the outcome of any business carried out for clients; or

(7) contain any inaccuracy or false or misleading statements; or

(8) be by such means or of such a character or in such bad taste as may reasonably be regarded as bringing the profession of solicitors into disrepute.

8. (1) Where an advertisement of or by a solicitor is deemed by the Council to contravene any of these regulations, the Council may by written notice duly given to him, require the solicitor from such date as the notice may stipulate, to withdraw, terminate or cancel the advertisement, as the case may require, and not to repeat it during the currency of the notice.

(2) A notice given by the Council to a solicitor under paragraph (1) of this regulation shall be signed by the Director General and shall be deemed to have been duly given if it is delivered to that solicitor or left at or sent by ordinary prepaid post to his last known place of business.

(3) (a) A solicitor aggrieved by the terms of any such notice may, within fourteen days of the date thereof, make written representations thereon to the Council, and in addition may, if he wishes, request an opportunity to make further oral representations to the Council, as to why such notice should be withdrawn by the Council.

(b) The Council shall, within two calendar months of the receipt of such written representations, decide either to confirm or to withdraw the said notice: provided that if the solicitor so aggrieved by the terms of such notice has requested an opportunity to make further oral representations to the Council as to why such notice should be withdrawn, then the Council shall, within such period, give that solicitor due opportunity to make such oral representations to it and the Council shall thereafter decide either to confirm or to withdraw such notice.

(c) A notice given by the Council to a solicitor pursuant to this regulation shall not become binding on that solicitor until either—

(i) the date stipulated in such notice; or

(ii) (in the event of that solicitor making written representations thereon to the Council and/or seeking an opportunity to make further oral representations thereon to the Council) the Council shall decide to confirm the said notice (if the Council should in fact decide to do so) and that solicitor has been duly notified in writing of such confirmation.

(4) The Council shall be entitled to publish to the solicitors' profession in whatever manner it deems appropriate the fact of the giving by the Council of written notice to a solicitor pursuant to this regulation.

(5) The failure by a solicitor to comply with the terms of a notice given to him pursuant to this regulation may, upon due enquiry by the Disciplinary Committee, be deemed by the Disciplinary Committee to be misconduct within the meaning of the Act of 1960.

9. (1) It shall be the duty of a solicitor to ensure that any advertisement of or by him complies with the provisions of these regulations.

(2) An advertisement of or by a solicitor shall, unless the contrary is proved, be deemed to have been issued (in the form in which it was issued) with his authority.

(3) A solicitor shall keep a copy of any advertisement issued by him or with his authority, together with (where appropriate) the written instructions given by him for the issuing of such advertisement, for a period of twelve calendar months from the latest date of its issue, and shall furnish a copy of such advertisement and (where appropriate) such written instructions, when requested to do so by the Council within that period.

10. The Council shall, in exceptional circumstances and after appropriate consideration, have power to waive any of the provisions of these regulations in any particular case.

Signed on behalf of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland this 14th day

of December 1988.

MAURICE R. CURRAN,

President of the Incorporated

Law Society of Ireland.