Solicitors Accounts Regulations 2014

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 516/2014
• Year: 2014

ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS

PART I:

Preliminary

1. Citation, construction and commencement

2. Definitions

3. Solicitors to whom these regulations apply

PART II:

Client Account and Office Account

4. General duty to pay client’s moneys into client account

5. Where discretion to pay into client account

6. Treatment of “mixed” moneys and exceptions to requirement to lodge clients’ moneys to client account

7. Withdrawals from client account

8. Interest

9. Manner of withdrawal from client account

10. Transfers between client ledgers accounts

11. Office account

12. Duty to furnish bills of cost

13. Books of account to be maintained by solicitor

PART III (A):

Controlled Trusts

14. General duty where controlled trust moneys received

15. Where discretion to pay into controlled trust account

16. Treatment of moneys which include trust moneys

17. Moneys to be paid into controlled trust account

18. Withdrawals from controlled trust account

19. Duty of controlling trustee to maintain accounting records

PART III (B):

Non-Controlled Trusts

20. General duty to pay non-controlled trust moneys into non-controlled trust account

PART III (C):

Insolvency Arrangements

21. General duty to pay insolvency arrangement moneys into insolvency arrangement account

22. Moneys to be paid into insolvency arrangement account

23. Withdrawals from insolvency arrangement account

24. Duty of personal insolvency practitioner to maintain accounting records

PART IV:

Accounting Records

25. Minimum accounting records

PART V:

Reporting Accountant’s Report

26. Duty to deliver reporting accountant’s report to the Society

27. Form of acknowledgement

28. Examination by reporting accounting

29. Solicitor’s duty to furnish documents to reporting accountant

30. Compliance partner

31. Where two or more places of business or associated firms

32. When reporting accountant’s report not required

33. Where a solicitor ceases to practice

34. Service of notices on reporting accountant

PART VI:

Investigation of Solicitors’ Practices

35. Investigation by authorised person

36. Requirement to furnish accounting statement or report

PART VII:

General

37. Responsibility of partner

38. Service of notice on solicitor

39. Solicitor’s lien

40. Modification of Regulations

FIRST SCHEDULE

Text of Section 66 of the Solicitors Act, 1954 (as substituted by Section 76 of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act, 1994 )

SECOND SCHEDULE

Reporting Accountant’s Report

S.I. No. 516 of 2014

SOLICITORS ACCOUNTS REGULATIONS 2014

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 21st November, 2014.

THE LAW SOCIETY OF IRELAND, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by sections 4 , 5 , 66 and 71 of the Solicitors Act, 1954 , (as substituted by section 76 of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act, 1994 and section 4 of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act, 2002 ) section 73 of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1994 and of every other power enabling them, and with the concurrence of the President of the High Court, HEREBY MAKE the following Regulations.

PART 1

PRELIMINARY

Citation, construction and commencement

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Solicitors Accounts Regulations 2014 and shall be construed together with and in accordance with the provisions of section 66 of the Solicitors Act, 1954 (as substituted by section 76 of the Act of 1994), the text of which is, for ease of reference, set forth in the First Schedule to these Regulations.

(2) Save as provided in clause (3) of this Regulation, these Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of December 2014 and thenceforth, subject to clause (3) of this Regulation, the Solicitors Accounts Regulations, 2001 to 2013 shall stand revoked.

(3) The Solicitors Accounts Regulations, 2001 to 2013 shall remain in full force and effect in relation to a solicitor in respect of:

(a) any accounting period in any practice year that has commenced before the 1st day of December 2014, until such time as the solicitor has duly complied with the provisions of Part V (Regulations 21 to 27, inclusive) as regards the furnishing to the Society of a reporting accountant’s report for any such accounting period or periods; and

(b) any investigation of the solicitor, as provided for in Regulation 28 thereof, which commenced and has not been finally completed before the 1st day of December 2014; provided that where, in pursuance of such an investigation, further investigation is required after the 1st day of December 2014, the provisions of the Solicitors Accounts Regulations, 2014 shall apply to such further investigation.

Definitions

2. (1) In these Regulations:

“accounting date” means the last date of his or her solicitors practice accounting period in each practice year which is selected by a solicitor and notified by him or her to the Society pursuant to Regulation 26(2);

“accounting period” means the period of one year ending on the accounting date, subject to the provisions of Regulations 26(2), 32 and 33;

“accounting records” means the books of account and all other documents required to be maintained and kept by a solicitor arising from his or her practice as a solicitor (including, where applicable, as a personal insolvency practitioner) in accordance with these Regulations, and in particular Regulation 25; and, for the avoidance of doubt, may include loose-leaf books, cards and such other forms of permanent documents of record as are appropriate for the operation of and the vouching of an efficient accounting system, whether written, mechanical or electronic;

“accounting statement” means a statement furnished to the Society pursuant to Regulation 36(1);

“Act” means the Solicitors Act, 1954 (No. 36 of 1954);

“Act of 1960” means the Solicitors (Amendment) Act, 1960 (No. 37 of 1960);

“Act of 1994” means the Solicitors (Amendment) Act, 1994 (No. 27 of 1994);

“Act of 2002” means the Solicitors (Amendment) Act, 2002 (No. 19 of 2002)

“Act of 2008” means the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2008 (No. 14 of 2008);

“Act of 2012” means the Personal Insolvency Act, 2012 (No. 44 of 2012);

“associated firms” means two or more firms of solicitors having one or more partners in common;

“authorised person” means a person authorised in writing by the Society for the purpose of exercising any of the Societys functions pursuant to section 66 (as substituted by section 76 of the Act of 1994) of the Act or these Regulations; and shall include any authorised representative or assistant of the authorised person;

“balancing date” means—

(a) the date expiring six months after the commencement of the accounting period in each practice year; and

(b) the accounting date at the end of the accounting period in each practice year;

“balancing statement” has the meaning assigned to it in Regulation 13(8)(a);

“bank” means—

(a) a bank which is the holder of a licence under section 9 (1) of the Central Bank Act, 1971 ,

(b) any financial institution referred to in subsection (4)(a)(ii) and (iii) of section 7 (as inserted by the Central Bank Act, 1989 ) of the Central Bank Act, 1971 , and

(c) a bank or financial institution standing designated by order of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform under section 75(2) of the Act of 1994;

PROVIDED that such bank or financial institution, or the relevant branch thereof, is situate in the State;

“bill of costs” means a formal written intimation furnished by a solicitor to a client of the amount of professional fees and, where applicable, outlays payable by the client concerned to the solicitor in respect of the provision to such client, in the course of and arising from his or her practice as a solicitor, of legal services; and “interim bill of costs” shall be construed in accordance with Regulation 12(2);

“books of account” means that part of a solicitors accounting records as comprise the books of account required to be maintained by a solicitor pursuant to these Regulations;

“cheque” includes a transaction conducted electronically that is equivalent to a transaction by means of a cheque;

“client” includes the personal representative of a client and any person on whose behalf the person who gave or is giving instructions was or is acting in relation to any matter in which a solicitor or his or her firm had been or is instructed; and includes a beneficiary to an estate under a will, intestacy or trust and a debtor under an insolvency arrangement; and also includes any person on whose account a solicitor receives, holds, controls or pays clients moneys in the course of and arising from his practice as a solicitor;

“client account” means an account (whether a current bank account or a deposit bank account) opened and kept by a solicitor at a bank in his or her name designated for clients moneys, and in the title of which account the word “client” appears; provided that a reference in these Regulations to “a client account” or “the client account” or “client account” shall, unless the particular circumstances or the context (or both) otherwise require or requires, refer to the totality of client accounts opened and kept by the solicitor;

“client ledger account” means that part of the books of account of a solicitor which, in accordance with Regulation 25(1)(b), records in respect of each client matter, the financial transactions conducted by the solicitor with or on behalf of his or her client, on client account;

“clients’ moneys” means moneys received, held or controlled by a solicitor arising from his or her practice as a solicitor for or on account of a client or clients, whether the moneys are received, held or controlled by him or her as agent, bailee, stakeholder, trustee or in any other capacity, including moneys received by the solicitor on account of outlays not yet discharged; provided...