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It is 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. Any solicitor found to be practising without a practising certificate is liable to be referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.

Practising certificate application forms
Application forms will be issued during the week commencing 12 December 2011. Application forms for solicitors in private practice will be forwarded to the principal or the managing partner in each practice, rather than to each solicitor.

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 2012, an application in the prescribed form, duly 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 by 1 February 2012. Applications should be delivered to: Regulation Department, Law Society of Ireland, George’s Court, George’s Lane, Dublin 7; DX 1025 Four Courts.

What happens if you apply late?
Any applications for practising certificates that are received after 1 February 2012 will result in the practising certificates being dated the date of actual receipt by the Registrar of Solicitors, rather than 1 January 2012. There is no legal power to allow any period of grace under any circumstances whatsoever.

Please note that, again during 2011, a number of solicitors went to the trouble and expense of making an application to the High Court for their practising certificate to be backdated to 1 January because their practising certificate application was received after 1 February.

The Regulation of Practice Committee is the committee of the Society that has responsibility for supervising compliance with practising certificate requirements. A special meeting of this committee will be held on a date after 1 February 2012, to be decided, to consider any late or unresolved applications for practising certificates. At this meeting, any practising solicitors who have not applied by then 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 prohibit 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. 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 form 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 and, where applicable, provided date of birth has been notified to the Society, will include an adjustment for those solicitors of 70 years or over, to take account of the fact that they will not be covered under the provisions of the Solicitors’ Group Life Cover Scheme.

Law Directory 2012
It is intended that the Law Directory 2012 will note all solicitors who have been issued with a practising certificate by 10 February 2012 (not those who have applied by 10 February 2012). Therefore, in order to ensure that your practising certificate issues by 10 February 2012, you should ensure that the application form you return to the Society is completed correctly. If it is not completed correctly, it will be necessary to return the form, which may result in delaying the issue of your practising certificate, despite the fact that you had applied for it prior to 10 February 2012.

What you can access on the website ()
Your individual pre-populated application form will also become available on the members’ area of the Law Society website during the week commencing 12 December 2011, which you can complete online prior to printing a copy for signing and returning to the Society with the appropriate fee. This area is accessible by using your username and password: for assistance, please visit . Blank forms will also be available for you to download, if required. In addition, you may request a form to be emailed to you by emailing pcrenewals@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.

Acknowledgement of application forms
Please note that it is not the Society’s policy to acknowledge receipt of application forms as received.

Duplicate practising certificate
A fee of €50 will be payable in respect of each duplicate practising certificate issued for any purpose.

John Elliot, Registrar of Solicitors and Director of Regulation