Room for more flexibility in selecting SCs – O’Donnell
The title of senior counsel carries expectations of future leadership, Chief Justice Donal O’Donnell said at an event to mark ten years of the LSRA.
The title of senior counsel conveys something significant to clients, colleagues, and courts about the professional qualities demonstrated by a practitioner, the chief justice said at the Royal College of Physicians (14 October).
It was, therefore, important that there were clear criteria for the award of patent of precedence, and that applicants understood what was required as a basis on which to present evidence to the selection committee, he said.
Criteria
However, criteria still required judgement, he stated.
“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted,” the chief justice added, quoting Einstein.
“A record of practice is important evidence, but assessing the quality of that practice, the independence of a practitioner, and the judgment brought to difficult decisions often requires more than counting cases,” he said.
The relatively limited number of applications by solicitors suggested that there remained some uncertainty about the benefits of the title, the chief justice added.
That was not surprising, as the proposals were not subject to any detailed consultation with the profession, the chief justice said.
Currently, distinguished practitioners in other jurisdictions who wished to practise in Ireland were excluded because of strict selection rules, he said.
“A different question is that raised by the position of a person practising abroad but who has a registration here,” he commented.
There might be room for greater flexibility in application arrangements, the chief justice stated.
Titles or styles
While Britain chose solely on excellence of advocacy, in whatever branch of the law, there could be separate titles or styles to recognise excellence in other fields of the legal profession, he said.
The selection committee could be empowered to grant an honorary title, he suggested.
“I am fully in favour of recognising excellence in the legal professions, and having a statutory body so the system could be reviewed, and consideration given to possible requirements,” the chief justice stated.
Any flexibility should preserve transparency and consistency, he concluded.