MEMBERS OF the Law Society have voted in favour of a resolution to provide financial support to the Solicitors Mutual Defence Fund.
The postal ballot of members was declared yesterday with 62 per cent (2,804) voting for the resolution and 38 per cent (1,738) against. The result opens the way for a private mutual fund that provides professional indemnity for solicitors. Each solicitor will contribute €200 per year over a 10-year period to the defence fund.
Voters were asked to decide on a recommendation by the society’s council “to provide financial support to the Solicitors Mutual Defence Fund up to a maximum of €16 million, to be funded by way of an equal payment from every practising solicitor for a period of 10 years and to be collected through the practising certificate fee or as otherwise determined by the society (currently estimated at €200 per solicitor per year)”.
The ballot follows a general meeting of members of the society in May which was called following a petition organised by some members opposed to providing financial support to the defence fund.
The fund, which insures about 30 per cent of solicitors, is insolvent and is being wound down with liabilities estimated by the society at €170 million although this figure has been disputed in some quarters.
The society’s council argued the charge is required to cover the 10 per cent of the mutual fund’s liabilities which have not been reinsured, which would in turn allow for the orderly wind-down of the fund.
The society appointed one solicitor to write a 500-word paper in favour of the proposal and another to write a paper arguing against prior to the ballot.
The vote was derived from a total poll of 4,550 ballots, of which eight were spoiled, giving a total valid poll of 4,542.
About 9,200 members were entitled to vote in the ballot.
President of the Law Society John Costello thanked everyone who participated in the poll, regardless of how they cast their vote.