Multiple questions put by Gript to the Law Society of Ireland have gone unanswered as turmoil envelops the organisation following a decision of the Law Society to endorse a ‘YesYes’ position on this Friday’s constitutional referendums.
The announcement that the Law Society had decided to endorse a ‘YesYes’ position was made by the Council of the Law Society following an internal debate of the Council rather than following a consultation with Law Society members.
Following the announcement, a number of lawyers took to social media to voice their displeasure at the lack of consultation with members before the council voted to adopt the ‘Yes Yes’ position on their behalf, and leading children’s rights solicitor with KOD Lyons law firm, Gareth Noble, announced his resignation from the Law Society’s committee on family and child law in reaction to the development.
Gript reached out to the Law Society with a number of questions about the vote that took place to adopt the endorsement and the subsequent fallout, but received only a brief statement in response which left the queries unanswered.
Gript asked whether it was the case that the Law Society had received complaints from members about the lack of consultation around the vote, and also asked for a list of those on the council who voted for and against the adoption of the ‘Yes Yes’ position, as well as their various legal competencies.
The response read: “The Council of the Law Society is the representative and governing body of the organisation. The members of the Law Society Council are elected by the members of the Law Society at national or regional level. The decisions of the Law Society Council are made in accordance with bye-laws passed by the members through the Annual General Meeting of the Law Society.”
In response to this, Gript restated its requests and added a question regarding whether anyone other than Mr Noble had resigned from the Law Society or society positions.
By the time of writing, no response was forthcoming.
Upon adoption of the ‘Yes Yes’ endorsement, President of the Law Society, Barry MacCarthy said that the nation’s “foundational legal document should reflect the values of modern Irish society”.
“Any language that is, by its nature, discriminatory does not fit these values and should be removed. If passed, the amendments will recognise the diversity of family life and the role of carers in a manner that more reflects who we are as a nation today,” he said.