Lawyers ‘shouldn’t be identified with clients’
The President of the High Court has told newly qualified solicitors that a critical part of the legal profession’s independence was the freedom to represent unpopular clients and causes.
Mr Justice Barniville speaking at a parchment ceremony held in Blackhall Place where 57 graduates were welcomed into the profession.
He told the event that it was important that solicitors or barristers were not criticised or pilloried for acting for unpopular clients, nor should they be identified with these clients or causes.
The High Court President noted that this issue had arisen recently in the presidential election campaign and had been “rightly responded to” in .
President-elect Catherine Connolly had faced criticism for representing banks during her time as a barrister.
Rule of law index
Mr Justice Davd Barniville also took issue with some of some of the findings on Ireland contained in a report on justice systems across the world.
Mr Justice Barniville noted that the World Justice Project’s recent for 2025 had found that the rule of law had declined in most countries for the eighth year in a row.
While Ireland had moved up one place to eighth position of 143 countries, the High Court President noted that its score in the civil-justice category had dropped, with the report citing longer delays, fewer effective alternatives to court, such as mediation, and greater Government interference.
“That would not be the experience of those working in the High Court or, indeed, other courts in this country,” Mr Justice Barniville said, adding that the appointment of new judges had reduced delays, while mediation was “widely used and encouraged”.
“There is, as far as I’m aware, little or no Government interference in our courts system,” he stated, adding that he would “fundamentally and respectfully” disagree with that aspect of the report.
‘Privileged environment’
Mr Justice Barniville told the new solicitors that they should appreciate the “relatively privileged environment” in which they worked in Ireland.
He said threats to the rule of law over the past decade had emerged in EU countries like Poland and Hungary and in other western countries – including the US.
He noted that, in Britain, representatives of law societies and bar councils had felt compelled recently to issue a public statement condemning politically motivated attacks on the legal profession, fuelled by comments made by some members of opposition parties.
“In that statement, they noted that barristers, solicitors, and judges have been subjected to violence, death threats, and rape threats,” the High Court President said.
‘Excellent ambassador’
Mr Justice Barniville also paid tribute to the Law Society President Eamon Harrington, who was attending his final parchment ceremony in the post.
He described the president as “an excellent ambassador for the solicitor’s profession”.
As well as the parchments, five prizes were also awarded at the ceremony:
- Bianca Maglioccoa (Equity Law Prize – Final Examination First Part 2021),
- Aoife Muckian (Company law Prize – Final Examination First Part 2021),
- Jordan Egan, Matheson (Equity Law Prize – Final Examination First Part 2022),
- Jordan Egan (Dispute Resolution First Place Prize [joint winner], Professional Practice Course 2023 prize), and
- Jordan Egan (Land Law Second Place Prize [joint winner] Professional Practice Course 2023 prize).