Legal Services Regulation Act 2015
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Prohibition on unqualified person providing legal services as practising barrister | ||
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136. (1) Subject to subsection (5), an unqualified person shall not provide legal services as a practising barrister. | ||
(2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) shall, without prejudice to any other liability or disability to which he may be subject, be guilty of an offence and shall be liable— | ||
(a) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or, at the discretion of the court, to a fine not exceeding €30,000 or to both such fine and such imprisonment, or | ||
(b) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or, at the discretion of the Court, to a Class A fine or to both such fine and such imprisonment. | ||
(3) A person who contravenes subsection (1) in relation to a court of justice shall also be guilty of contempt of that court and shall be punishable accordingly. | ||
(4) In this section, “unqualified person” means a person who— | ||
(a) is not a qualified barrister, | ||
(b) notwithstanding that he or she is a qualified barrister, is not a person whose name is entered on the roll of practising barristers, or | ||
(c) is not a practising solicitor. | ||
(5) Subsection (1) shall not, during the period referred to in that paragraph, apply to a practising barrister to whom paragraph (b) of section 133 (1) applies. |