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It is professional misconduct and a criminal offence for a solicitor (other than a solicitor in the full-time service of the State) to practise without a practising certificate. A solicitor shall be deemed to practise as a solicitor if he or she engages in the provision of legal services. ‘Legal services’ are services of a legal or financial nature provided by a solicitor arising from that solicitor’s practice as a solicitor.

It should be noted that, as set out in the practice note ‘Prohibition on practising as a solicitor without a practising certificate: solicitors cannot be “legal executives” or “paralegals”’, as published in the Gazette in July 2009 and again in February 2012, it is not permissible for a firm to classify a solicitor employed by a firm as a ‘legal executive’ or ‘paralegal’ with a view to avoiding the requirement to hold a practising certificate if the solicitor is engaged in the provision of legal services.

The actions that can be taken against a solicitor found to be practising without a practising certificate include a referral to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, an application to the High Court, and a report to An Garda Síochána.

Practising certificate application forms
Application forms for solicitors in private practice will be forwarded to the principal or the managing partner in each practice, rather than each solicitor. Please note that practising certificate application forms will not be available until after 19 December 2012.

When you must apply
A practising certificate must be applied for on or before 1 February in each year in order to be dated 1 January of that year and thereby operate as a qualification to practise from the commencement of the year. It is therefore a legal requirement for a practising solicitor to deliver, or cause to be delivered, to the Registrar of Solicitors, on or before 1 February 2013, an application in the prescribed form correctly completed and signed by the applicant solicitor personally, together with the appropriate fee. The onus is on each solicitor to ensure that his or her application form and fee is delivered on or before 1 February 2013. Applications should be delivered to the Regulation Department of the Society at George’s Court, George’s Lane, Dublin 7; DX 1025.

Please note that any incorrectly completed application forms or applications without full payment cannot be processed and will be returned. Therefore, solicitors are strongly advised to read and take full account of the practising certificate application form guidelines when completing the form.

What happens if you apply late?
Any applications for practising certificates that are received after 1 February 2013 will result in the practising certificate being dated the date of actual receipt by the Registrar of Solicitors, rather than 1 January 2013. There is no legal power to allow any period of grace under any circumstances whatsoever.

Please note that, as mentioned above, you cannot provide legal services as a solicitor without a practising certificate in force. Therefore, solicitors whose practising certificate application forms are received after 1 February 2013 and whose practising certificates are therefore dated after 1 February 2013, who have provided legal services before that date, are advised to make an application to the President of the High Court to have their practising certificates backdated to 1 January 2013.

The Regulation of Practice Committee is the regulatory committee of the Society that has responsibility for supervising compliance with practising certificate requirements. A special meeting of the committee will be held on a date after 1 February 2013, to be decided at a later date, to consider any late or unresolved applications for practising certificates. At this meeting, any practising solicitors who have not applied by that date for a practising certificate will be considered for referral forthwith to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and will be informed that the Society reserves the right to take proceedings for an order under section 18 of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act 2002 to prevent them from practising illegally.

If you are an employed solicitor
Solicitors who are employed should note that it is the statutory obligation of every solicitor who requires a practising certificate to ensure that he or she has a practising certificate in force from the commencement of the year. Employed solicitors cannot absolve themselves from this responsibility by relying on their employers to procure their practising certificates. However, it is the Society’s recommendation that all employers should pay for the practising certificate of solicitors employed by them.

Some of your details are already on the application form
The practising certificate application forms will be issued with certain information relating to each solicitor’s practice already completed. Such information will include the relevant fees due by each solicitor, including allowance for solicitors of 70 years or over, as they will not be covered under the provisions of the Solicitors’ Group Life Scheme.

Payment by electronic funds transfer (EFT)
All practising certificate application forms sent out will include an EFT payment form. Any solicitor wishing to pay the practising certificate fee by EFT must complete and return the EFT payment form with their practising certificate application form. Failure to do so will result in the application form being returned as incomplete.

Each EFT payment must have an easily identifiable specific reference, such as the firm or company name, the solicitor’s name or the solicitor’s number. General references such as ‘Law Society’ or ‘practising certificate’ will not be accepted and may result in a significant delay in the issuing of the practising certificate. The payment reference used must be included in the EFT form. Failure to include this information will result in the application form being returned as incomplete.

Law Directory 2013
It is intended that the Law Directory 2013 will note all solicitors who have been issued with a practising certificate by 22 February 2013. Practising certificates can only be issued following receipt of a properly completed application form together with full payment, with no outstanding queries raised thereon. It should be noted that only those solicitors with practising certificates issued by 22 February 2013 will be included in the Law Directory, not every solicitor who has submitted an application form by 22 February 2013.

Therefore, in order to ensure that your practising certificate issues by 22 February 2013 to enable you to be included in the Law Directory, you should ensure that the application form you return to the Society is completed correctly and includes full payment of fees due. If the form is not completed correctly or fees have not been paid in full, it will be necessary for the Society to return the form, which may result in delaying the issue of your practising certificate, despite the fact that you had applied for the practising certificate prior to 22 February 2013.

The details of any solicitor whose practising certificate issues after 22 February 2012 will not be included in the Law Directory, but will be included in a supplementary list of solicitors that will be published at a later date on the Society’s website.

What can you access on the website ()?
A blank, editable application form will be available in the members’ area of the Law Society’s website after 19 December 2012, which can be completed online prior to printing a copy for signing and returning to the Society with the appropriate fee. This area is accessible using your username and password. If you require assistance, please visit www.lawsociety.ie/help. In addition, you may request a form to be emailed to you by emailing pc@lawsociety.ie.

If you are ceasing practice
If you have recently ceased practice or are intending to cease practice in the coming year, please notify the Society accordingly.

Acknowledgment of application forms
Please note that it is not the Society’s policy to acknowledge receipt of application forms. If in doubt that your application form will arrive on time, or at all, send by recorded post, tracked DX or courier.

Duplicate practising certificate
Please note that there is a fee of €50 in respect of each duplicate practising certificate issued for any purpose.

John Elliot,
Registrar of Solicitors and Director of Regulation