Madam, – I note in your Editorial (August 6th) that you – as well as our esteemed Minister for Enterprise Mary Coughlan – are of the opinion that lawyers are not yet feeling the “chill winds of economic reality”.
Please note: 1. Up to 700 solicitors have qualified in Ireland every year for the last 10 years. One third of the solicitors currently admitted in Ireland have been admitted since 2000. A huge proportion of these solicitors find it virtually impossible to find work.This is largely because of the collapse in the economy as presided over by Ms Coughlan and her government. 2. 609 solicitors have qualified since January 1st, 2009. The Law Society is of the opinion that the majority of these are out of work. 3. The Law Society itself has announced nine redundancies this year.
As a practising solicitor I absolutely assure you that every solicitor in the country is feeling the “chill winds of economic reality”. To indicate otherwise is inaccurate, untrue, and offensive. – Yours, etc,