Court Orders for Client Files

Should you or your office become the subject of a court order for a client’s file, you can follow Law Society guidance, provided below, which includes a checklist of steps to take.

The Gardai and Revenue can obtain court orders over files that solicitors hold in relation to clients. 

If orders obtained by Revenue officials

Solicitors should familiarise themselves with the law as it relates to section 908 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, as amended. View a summary of the most important provisions of the 1997 Act. 

A checklist of actions can also be followed by solicitors in receipt of such orders - download the checklist.

If orders obtained by CAB officials

Practitioners can access a briefing note published by the Law Society in May 2000 entitled “What to do when the CAB comes to call”. 

Solicitors should also familiarise themselves with the legislation relating to CAB orders (section 14 of the Criminal Assets Bureau Acts 1996 and 2005) - see the following links:

An unofficial consolidated version of section 14 of the Criminal Assets Bureau Acts 1996 and 2005, which includes a summary of some of the changes made to section 14 of the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996 by the Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2005, is also available in this Law Society summary sheet.

The summary sheet is for general information purposes only and cannot be relied upon as a determinative interpretation or statement of section 14 of the Criminal Assets Bureau Acts 1996 and 2005. It ought to be considered in conjunction with the text of the relevant pieces of legislation to consider the full extent of the statutory obligations contained therein.

Contact us 

For further assistance on how to deal with Revenue or CAB orders and warrants, practitioners can contact a member of the Policy Development team at aml@lawsociety.ie. 

 at aml@lawsociety.ie.