'Unjustified slur' angers Law Society

THE BODY representing solicitors has defended the profession after what it called an “unjustified slur” by the master of the …

THE BODY representing solicitors has defended the profession after what it called an “unjustified slur” by the master of the High Court, Edmund Honohan.

The Law Society took issue with a remark by Mr Honohan in a judgment last week that of all those who swore affidavits, solicitors were the group “most frequently found to have only a nodding acquaintance with the truth”.

Society director general Ken Murphy described the remark as “an outrageous and utterly unjustified slur on the integrity of the entire solicitors’ profession”.

Mr Honohan’s remarks were made in a judgment attacking the fairness of “fast-track” court procedures allowing creditors to get final judgment orders without a full hearing against debtors unable to pay lawyers and with insufficient legal knowledge to mount an effective defence.

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Genevieve Carbery

Genevieve Carbery

Genevieve Carbery is Abroad Editor at The Irish Times