Corporate Governance
Incorporated by royal charter, the Law Society of Ireland functions in accordance with its charter, bye-laws, regulations, and various regulatory frameworks set out in legislation, including the Solicitors Acts 1954-2015.The Law Society Council is committed to best practice in corporate governance. It is working to develop an appropriate governance framework that recognises members of the Law Society as the key stakeholders, and Council as the governing body elected by those members.
Current Council members at the date of this report are identified under Council of the Law Society. In all, 31 members of Council are elected by national elections, and four members by provincial elections, serve for a two-year term, and may be re-elected indefinitely. Council appoints up to 13 further extraordinary members annually, based on nominations from the Dublin Solicitors’ Bar Association, the Southern Bar Association, and the Law Society of Northern Ireland.
At the November 2024 annual general meeting, Aidan Leahy, Barry MacCarthy, Kate McKenna, and Brendan Twomey retired from Council. Thomas Coughlan, Peter Doyle, Imran Khurshid, and Cristina Stamatescu were elected for the first time at the same meeting. During the 2024/25 term, Michele O’Boyle resigned from Council on her appointment to the board of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority. Council co-opted Niamh Ní Mhurchú in March 2025 to complete Michele O’Boyle’s term. No candidate stood for the vacant Ulster provincial position in November 2024, and Council co-opted Kevin McElhinney to this position in January 2025.
Duties and responsibilities
Under the royal charter, Council is responsible for “the sole and entire management of the Society”. However, certain powers are reserved only to Law Society members. Members elect the Council, set the date of the AGM, and appoint the auditors and the election scrutineers. Members also approve any change to the bye-laws and any capital expenditure greater than €2 million.
Section 73 of the Solicitors Act 1954 permits the Council to delegate any powers to any committee appointed by Council. Council retains certain powers, such as approval of the practising certificate fee, but delegates a wide range of responsibilities and statutory functions to seven standing committees that can bind the Law Society. The standing committees are identified on page X of this report.
Council appoints chairpersons and members to committees at the start of each new Council year. Committees, with few exceptions, are not restricted in size, and the maximum length of service on a committee is not limited.
Council diversity
Council is aware that its composition should broadly reflect membership of the Law Society. 72% of Council members are elected by members of the Law Society. The other 28% are appointed by Council on nomination by other bodies. The Law Society’s membership database can be used to compare composition of the Council with composition of the Law Society’s members by gender, geography, and length of qualification.
Chart 1 (above) shows that women are currently underrepresented on Council. In all, 40% of Council members are female, compared with a female membership of 54%. Representation on the governing body, however, currently reaches the 40% requirement set by the Government for female membership of the boards of public bodies.
Chart 2 shows geographical distribution. In all, 67% of Law Society members are Dublin-based, compared with 40% of Council members. In contrast, Munster Council members make up 27% of Council, compared with 15% of Law Society members residing in Munster.
Chart 3 shows Council members and Law Society members by length of time qualified. Council members qualified, on average, 26 years ago. The average member of the Law Society qualified 17 years ago. Recently qualified members are significantly under-represented on Council.
Remuneration
Council members are not remunerated for their service. The president receives a stipend in accordance with bye-law 7(5). Council has ultimate authority and control over the terms and conditions of the director general and employees of the Law Society, and delegates authority for employment and remuneration matters to a subcommittee of the Finance Committee. Membership of this Administrative Subcommittee of the Finance Committee is limited to the elected officers, the past-president, the chair and vice-chair of the Finance Committee, and the director general.
This administrative subcommittee oversaw the implementation of the Reward Strategy. In 2024, the committee approved a cost-of-living increase of 2.25% to the salary scale for support staff, and an overall budget for performance-related increases for executive-level employees.
The committee oversaw and approved the appointment of five new senior level roles in Policy, Education, Finance and Operations, Regulation, and Corporate Affairs. The Administrative Subcommittee of the Finance Committee met three times in the 12-month period to June 2025.
Risk
Council has approved a risk-management framework to support its strategy. Directors are responsible for identifying and managing risk and for ensuring that effective and robust controls are being implemented. The senior leadership team evaluates the risks and has compiled an enterprise risk register, which is updated quarterly. The Finance Committee and the Coordination Committee review the risk register quarterly, and Council reviews the risk register twice annually.
Evaluation and training
Council did not conduct a formal evaluation in 2024, but continued to implement enhancements to its practices based on recommendations from an external evaluation conducted in July 2021. The Law Society arranged induction training for, and provided detailed documentation to, new Council members in 2024.
Compliance with legislation
The Law Society complies with corporate governance and other obligations imposed by the following legislation:
- Solicitors Acts 1954-2015,
- Disability Act 2005,
- Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005,
- Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015,
- Protected Disclosures Act 2014 (as amended), and
- Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003, and associated legislation.