Under the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 (PIA), a personal insolvency practitioner (PIP) is defined as a person authorised by the Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI) to act as a PIP. The ISI is an independent statutory body established under the PIA to oversee and regulate all matters pertaining to personal insolvency in Ireland. Solicitors with a current practising certificate may act as PIPs once approved by the ISI.

‘Legal services’ are defined in section 2 of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1994 (as substituted by section 45(b) of the Investment Compensation Act 1998) as services of a legal or financial nature provided by a solicitor arising from that solicitor’s practice as a solicitor, includes any part of such services, and includes any investment business services provided by a solicitor who is not an authorised investment business firm.

‘Solicitor’ is defined by section 3 of the Solicitors Act 1954, as substituted by section 3(1)(a) of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1994, as a person who has been admitted as a solicitor and whose name is on the Roll of Solicitors.

Provision of PIP services is not a reserved legal service and can, therefore, be carried out by solicitors and non-solicitors. However, under the definitions of ‘legal services’ and ‘solicitor’ in the Solicitors Acts 1954 to 2011, work done by solicitor PIPs constitutes provision of legal services by a solicitor and, as such, the Society has a statutory obligation under the acts to regulate such services, at least in certain respects. The Society does not have the power to ignore or divest itself of this obligation or delegate such regulation of solicitors to another body.

Consequently, under the acts currently in place, the ISI will remain responsible for regulating solicitor PIPs’ obligations as PIPs under the PIA and any regulations arising therefrom, and the Society will remain responsible for regulating solicitor PIPs in respect of their obligations as solicitors under the Solicitors Acts 1954-2011 and the regulations arising therefrom.

For solicitor PIPs, this means:

1)       As a PIP, the solicitor has an obligation to comply with the provisions of the PIA, any regulations arising therefrom, and the requirements of the ISI,

2)       As a solicitor PIP, the solicitor must also simultaneously comply with the provisions of the Solicitors Acts 1954-2011, any regulations arising therefrom, and the requirements of the Society,

3)       Solicitor PIPs will be entitled to avail of their firm’s existing professional indemnity insurance and provide services as solicitor PIPs through their firm,

4)       Solicitor PIPs will not be required to set up a separate and distinct legal firm for the provision of PIP services, but are free to do so if they wish. If a separate legal firm is set up for the provision of PIP services, separate professional indemnity insurance must be obtained,

5)       A type of solicitor/client relationship will exist between the solicitor PIP and the debtor, albeit one limited by the statutory responsibilities of the PIP to the creditors and the ISI, as well as the debtor,

6)       Clients of solicitor PIPs may be able to make claims on the Society’s compensation fund in the event of dishonesty by a solicitor PIP,

7)       Debt agreement monies held by a solicitor PIP will be subject to investigation by the Society, be included in the firm’s annual reporting accountant’s report, and be subject to the requirements of the Solicitors’ Accounts Regulations, as well as any accounts regulations published by the ISI,

8)       Solicitors on the Roll of Solicitors are prohibited from providing services as a PIP through a limited company or setting up in partnership with a non-solicitor, in accordance with the Solicitors Acts 1954-2011.