Solicitor’s fraud conviction exposes system’s weakness

Solicitor Thomas Byrne’s conviction for fraud has taught us two things. First, the ILSI compensation fund is an insurance policy by solicitors for solicitors against the misdeeds of their own. It affords little compensation for clients.

Second, to the extent that the ILSI fails to prevent the deficient, illegal and fraudulent actions of its solicitor members, it is arguably liable in negligence. It should have simple expedients to prevent such misdeeds. That some (only) such expedients are latterly being put in place is testimony to this failure. That other, simple expedients are not in place opens the ILSI to further actions in negligence and breach of duty to its ‘neighbour’, the many clients who suffer loss as a result of that failure and those misdeeds. High time an independent regulatory body was put in place.

Kevin T Finn