ELIO MALOCCO AND THE LAW

EIMEAR CODD,

EIMEAR CODD,

Sir, - Avoiding responsibility for his past actions, David Elio Malocco blames the legal profession by attempting to bring it into disrepute when he says: "to become a lawyer you are trained to lie and cheat, to find out what the rules are and to bend them" (Weekend, July 6th).

Having trained as a solicitor myself and having practised for some time, I strongly disagree with that statement. In fact, when I qualified as a solicitor, the Law Society reminded us that we had become officers of the court. Over the past number of years, I have had dealings with many members of the profession who live by this principle. If my becoming a lawyer had entailed a process of lying and cheating or bending the rules, I would not care to be a member of the profession. - Yours, etc.,

EIMEAR CODD, Ashdale Road, Dublin 6.