DISCIPLINARY MEASURES

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21759, 16 April 1936, Page 11

DISCIPLINARY MEASURES

MEMBERS 0$ THE £B€feL PROFESSION IMPORTANCE OF. RECESS y> AMENDMENT [THE PRESS Special Service.] DUNEDIN, April 15. ' The* imposition of disciplinary measures on negligent members of the legal profession was briefly referred to by,Mr H. F. O'Leary, K.C., in his presidential address to the Dominion Legal Conference today. "The last year has been one of the greatest importance to the profession," Mr O'Leary said, "because we promoted and were responsible for the placing on the statute book of an amendment to the Law Practitioners Act, which brought about a radical change in the difficult and distasteful duty of disciplining our own members. "I am bound to say that we were met very well by the legislators, and assisted in every way by the majority of them. My experience in connexion with the passingl of our bill emboldens me to say that we need not fear in asking Parliament in the future for any reasonable provisions which we may think desirable in the interests < and tor the protection of the profession., ■»■■ "I think I may add, too, that in the minds of the politicians and the general public we have greatly advanced and strengthened our jposition by the self-imposition of the Solicitors* Fidelity Guarantee Tund. That act, provided by us, showed those outside our ranks that we had regard as lawyers not only for our iown interests, but also for the InIterests of the public."