Lawyers in the Republic of Ireland could face their own version of the Clementi reforms after a report this week by the Irish Competition Authority.


Publishing its final report on competition in legal services - the preliminary version in February 2005 was described as a 'cut and paste' of Clementi - the authority recommended establishing an independent legal services commission with overall responsibility for regulating the profession in a similar manner to the proposed legal services board in England and Wales.



As here, the Law Society of Ireland and Bar Council of Ireland would continue to handle the day-to-day regulation of lawyers, but have to separate regulatory and representative functions. 'Most of the report points to the fact that the bar council and law society have presided over rules and practices which benefit the profession but are bad for consumers,' said William Prasifka, who chairs the authority.



However, there will be no office for legal complaints - the Irish government is already legislating to create a legal services ombudsman to oversee the society and council's complaints-handing. On alternative business structures, the authority only recommended allowing barristers to form partnerships. It said the commission, once established, should consider legal and multi-disciplinary partnerships, as well as non-lawyer ownership, and added that it saw some good arguments for them.



Ken Murphy, director-general of the society, said the report, which took five and a half years and had changed little from the preliminary version, contained 'some discredited recommendations' overtaken by events, including the ombudsman and the society creating greater separation between regulation and representation.



The Irish government, which will make the final decision, is moving in a different direction and has praised the society's work, Mr Murphy said. He rejected the suggestion that the professional bodies had regulated in their members' interests, arguing that the authority had provided no evidence to back its claim.



Neil Rose