Chapter 5 - Support available to the in-house solicitor

Blackhall Place

 


In her foreword to this guide, Law Society President Maura Derivan outlined the background and work of the Society’s In-house and Public Sector Committee.

The committee currently comprises 26 in-house solicitors, drawn from a diversity of roles in the private and public sectors. It aims to represent the views and promote the interests of in-house solicitors. The committee helps to support the Law Society in the exercise of its representative, educational, and regulatory roles as they relate to the in-house sector. The ‘member benefits’ section below outlines those benefits of interest to in-house solicitors – for instance, in-house panel discussions, in-house annual conference, Gazette articles, and the LinkedIn in-house members-only group.

Further information regarding the committee and its work can be found on the Society’s website.

If there is a matter that you would like to raise with the committee, please contact the committee secretary, Louise Campbell, Law Society of Ireland, Blackhall Place, Dublin 7; tel: 01 881 5712, email: l.campbell@lawsociety.ie.


The Law Society’s Practice Regulation Section has produced the Regulatory Guide for In-house Solicitors Employed in the Corporate and Public Sectors, available on the Society’s website. There are also sections on the Society’s website regarding practising certificates and professional indemnity insurance.

The Registrar of Solicitors has issued a practice note, ‘Practising certificate 2023: notice to all practising solicitors’.

The Practice Regulation Section provides guidance on these regulatory matters and can be contacted at pc@lawsociety.ie.


Being a member of the Law Society entitles solicitors to benefits in addition to those attached to the practising certificate. As an in-house solicitor in the private or public sector, you may be particularly interested in the following member benefits:

We recognise that in-house solicitors have specific needs, and so we have developed resources focused on this sector. The LinkedIn Law Society in-house members-only group is a private forum for in-house solicitors to network and discuss matters of common interest. A link to the group, along with an explanation of its purpose and background, is available at www.lawsociety.ie/inhouselinkedin.

The Law Society Library has a list of resources, including books and journal articles of relevance to the in-house solicitor, which you will find on the In-house and Public Sector Committee section of the website. You can contact the library at libraryenquire@lawsociety.ie or see www.lawsociety.ie/library.

The Gazette regularly publishes at least one article in each issue specific to in-house solicitors. The eZine also includes an ‘In-house update’ once a month. Of course, the Society’s website is a valuable source of information, with the In-house and Public Sector Committee section a must-read for any aspiring or current in-house solicitor.

The Council of the Law Society of Ireland appoints committees to monitor and guide its members on best practice in a range of legal areas. Solicitors can log in to access useful resources under each committee, including practice notes and precedents for that area of law.

You can learn more about the benefits of membership on the Law Society website. If you would like to provide feedback on the services and supports offered to members by the Law Society, please do get in touch with Michelle Nolan, Head of Member Services, at memberservices@lawsociety.ie or tel: 01 672 4800.


The Law Society launched an expanded educational and member service, Law Society Psychological Services, in March 2022. A range of new and innovative supports and services for solicitors, legal teams, and legal workplaces will be coordinated through this new service.

Partnering with legal workplaces

Law Society Psychological Services is developing a suite of bespoke training, support, and communication resources and events for legal workplaces. Contact ps@lawsociety.ie to become involved.

LegalMind

LegalMind is a subsidised, independent, and confidential mental-health support service available to all Law Society members, Law School trainees (who have completed the Professional Practice Course), and solicitors with a practising certificate in Ireland. Find out more at lawsociety.ie/legalmind.

Professional Wellbeing Hub

The Professional Wellbeing Hub is a portal of practical information and supports relating to lawyer wellbeing, mental health, and legal workplace culture.

Professional Wellbeing Charter

Details about how legal firms and other organisations can sign up to the Law Society’s Wellbeing Charter are also available at lawsociety.ie/wellbeinghub.

Communications

Law Society Psychological Services has regular feature articles in the Gazette. These address aspects of personal and professional wellbeing and have particular resonance for lawyers. The service also contributes a short column entitled ‘Professional lives’ to each issue of the Gazette, where members of the legal profession share their experience of overcoming challenges in personal and professional life. Email ps@lawsociety.ie to suggest themes or to offer an article.

Events

The popular and complimentary Law Society Skillnet Wellbeing Summit is an annual autumn event open to all and is attended by hundreds of members who join virtually from all sectors of law.

The service also offer an annual trauma summit in the late spring, featuring international experts in this field. This is of particular interest to lawyers working with complex clients.

Dignity Matters

Law Society Psychological Services is firmly committed to meeting the recommendations of the Dignity Matters report. Our focus is on collaborating with legal partners to co-create a healthy workplace culture. Updates on this progress, along with practical information and resources, including the Law Society’s ‘Dignity Matters Toolkit’, are available at lawsociety.ie/dignitymatters.


Law Society Professional Training continues to be the main provider of continuing professional development (CPD) education to the solicitors’ profession in Ireland.

Training ranges in duration from one hour to full-day events, masterclasses (generally run over weekends), to longer part-time courses. As well as the on-site courses at Blackhall Place, Professional Training offers a suite of online courses/webinars and low-cost regional Skillnet Cluster events.

Law Society Professional Training incorporates Law Society Skillnet Networks. Private sector bodies can apply for annual membership of Law Society Skillnet, which will make them eligible for discounts on relevant training programmes. Public sector bodies can also avail of discounts through membership of our public sector subscription scheme.

CPD training specifically designed for the in-house solicitors in the private and public sectors includes the annual in-house and public sector panel discussion and the annual in-house and public sector conference.

CPD training events that are also relevant to in-house solicitors in the private and public sectors include:

  • The Executive Edge Diploma in Leadership and Management,

  • Construction Law Masterclass – on demand,

  • Coaching skills,

  • Masterclass in Planning and Environmental Law,

  • Online digital upskilling courses,

  • Effective communication skills courses,

  • Commercial and Complex Conveyancing Masterclass,

  • Various areas of practice designed in collaboration with the Law Society committees (such as the Litigation Committee, the ADR Committee),

  • Wellbeing events,

  • Regional Skillnet cluster events, and

  • A Suite of online social media courses.

We also offer bespoke in-house training, which can be delivered in-house at an agreed venue. Full details of the CPD programme can be found on the website. Professional Training also produces a monthly e-zine with updates on CPD events. All training events can be booked online, by phone, or by post. For further details and assistance, email lspt@lawsociety.ie.


For over 20 years, the award-winning Diploma Centre has been providing part-time postgraduate courses specifically designed for solicitors, with a selection of its courses tailored for in-house lawyers. The Diploma Centre offers a range of certificate and diplomas courses, two LLM programmes, and a Professional Doctorate in Law. It has a loyal, highly knowledgeable faculty of lecturers who draw on years of practical experience in the delivery of course content. Their expertise, combined with a unique blended-learning model, allows the Diploma Centre to constantly deliver top-quality courses in a way that suits busy professionals.

The Diploma Centre’s supportive student-centred model ensures that the needs of course participants remain the focus of its approach. In addition to the courses, it offers an annual CPD bonus conference, meaning that Diploma Centre course participants are able to satisfy their annual CPD requirements. The delivery of courses offers maximum flexibility and is designed with busy working professionals in mind. All sessions are recorded and available to view on demand.

The Diploma Centre regularly offers courses that may be of interest to in-house solicitors, including:

  • Certificate in Commercial Contracts,

  • Certificate in Company Secretarial Law and Practice,

  • Certificate in Data Protection Practice,

  • Certificate in Enforcement for Public Bodies,

  • Diploma in Employment Law,

  • Diploma in Finance Law,

  • Diploma in Technology and IP Law,

  • Diploma in Compliance and Risk Management,

  • Diploma in Corporate Law and Governance,

  • And many more, such as conveyancing, immigration law, healthcare law, sports law, insurance law, entertainment and media law, and environmental law.

For a full list of courses, please visit lawsociety.ie/diplomacentre or, for assistance, contact the Diploma Centre at diplomateam@lawsociety.ie.

Certificate in Strategic Leadership for the In-House Lawyer

The Certificate in Strategic Leadership for the In-House Lawyer continues to be a popular course that is offered annually. This certificate is geared towards in-house counsel in both private commercial and public-sector organisations who wish to contribute to the growth and direction of their organisation through the development of their own in-house practice. The course harnesses participants’ commercial awareness and focuses on developing the capability to identify opportunities for expansion and innovation, along with the know-how to take advantage.

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