Council's call
Keith Walsh SC and Hilary O'Connor are both on the Law Society Council, though not running for election this year. They talk to the Gazette about the challenges and rewards of a stint on Council
Dublin-based family lawyer Keith Walsh SC was familiar with the Law Society from his traineeship, when he campaigned for a minimum wage for 'apprentices' as they were then known.
"I was writing for the [apprentices' page in the] Gazette, and that background meant I was familiar with the Law Society," he says. "I was relatively young, in my 30s, and I was very enthusiastic," he recalls.
He successfully ran for Council in 2008, hoping to represent smaller firms and sole practitioners. Council concerns back then focused on practice management and the broader trajectory of the legal profession during the economic crisis.
"It's particularly good to go on Council for people who are working for themselves," Walsh notes. "It's hugely beneficial, because you're dealing with other people, but you realise that their issues are the same."
He has met a huge number of practitioners who have given of their time voluntarily.
"I sat on the Regulation of Practice and Complaints Committees. It wasn't something I asked to do, it was something to which I was assigned," he says. This required a transition from advocacy to an adjudicative function, applying the Solicitors Acts and the professional code of conduct.
Operational errors
Overseeing these cases gave insight into common operational errors and helped him later in assisting colleagues facing professional difficulties. "That was incredibly helpful in terms of seeing the mistakes that people can make and trying to be fair to colleagues."
Additional legislative and policy work included contributions to the Legal Services Regulatory Authority legislation and involvement with the Dublin Solicitors' Bar Association.
"Going on Council was a transformative change for me. It's made my career as a solicitor ten times more interesting. I view it as a 'give and take': it's an opportunity, but also a duty."
Blown away
Solicitor and mediator Hilary O'Connor originally practised in Swords, Co Dublin, before a family relocation back to Westport, Co Mayo.
The experience of transferring her practice led her to seeking Council office in order to support smoother succession pathways. "I was doing it in my 40s, but to scale that up to one's 60s, it can be a very vulnerable time," says O'Connor.
"I wasn't a mover or shaker, but I had a following on Instagram. I really care about the results and the client experience, and so I ran for election." She admits to a complete lack of strategic planning in her election bid as a provincial delegate from the west.
Hilary was "blown away" when she was elected and has found the whole experience of being on Council "amazing". "I now understand what the Law Society is doing, and what a massive machine it is, and I am really impressed with the calibre of people involved.
"What appeals to me most is Solicitor Services. It's the envy of a lot of professions – how much we are talking about psychological health.
"I'm on the ADR and the Regulation of Practice Committees, as well as the Practice Support and Communications Committee. I have found that a very rewarding committee to be on. I think I bring compassion and a different perspective, in that I have run my own practice and I have been in a smaller practice. I think it's really important to have that mix."
Hilary acknowledges that Council service takes time – and much reading: "But the rewards are massive in different ways – so much personal growth in the engagement with colleagues, and listening to some of the presentations from the executive," she says.
"Hand on heart, it has been a complete eye-opener to go on Council," she concludes.
Each year, solicitors holding current Law Society membership can put themselves forward for election to the Council of the Law Society. Nominations will open on 24 August. For more information, see lawsociety.ie/elections.
Mary Hallissey is a journalist at the Law Society Gazette.