Victims of the Legal Profession Society

You Can Never Improve On the Truth!

About Us

VLPS logo

The Victims of the Legal Profession Society is a support group

for the many victims of the corrupt legal system in Ireland.

Please sign our Guestbook

Our Aims

To improve the practice of law in Ireland by identifying and highlighting malpractice, overcharging and abuse wherever it exists.

To have a layperson or international lawyer set up as Ombudsman for the legal profession.

To have a Solicitors Complaints Tribunal composed entirely of lay people.

To have any legal practitioner or law officer associated with altering or destroying any document of legal importance struck off the register and certainly never appointed to the bench.

To have any legal practitioner using his position to facilitate tax evasion struck off the register and never appointed to the bench.

To get taxation rules changed so that all parties to legal actions would be taxed in the same way, i.e. legal costs should be tax allowable for everyone or for no one (the present situation is probably unconstitutional).

To bring in a long special compulsory training course for all lawyers wishing to be appointed to the bench. The main subject would be JUSTICE.

Our Actions

Bringing the issues to the attention of politicians and the public.

Developing and maintaining a database of members of the VLPS.

Meeting victims to give them a sympathetic hearing.

Documenting abuse in order to present to the authorities a full picture of the nature and extent of abuse.

Providing a support network for members attending the Courts.

Providing advice to victims based on members' experience (possibly identifying a number of sympathetic legal practitioners to augment lay advice).

The VLPS in the News:

The Irish Independent, 26 August 2001: Solicitors to face public scrutiny from the newly-founded Society.

The Irish Examiner, 11 March 2003: Fergus Finlay talks about "dodgy lawyers" and the importance of having
an Ombudsman.

UTV, 12 March 2004: UTV reports that Irish lawyers face corruption allegations from the Society.

The Irish Examiner, 12 March 2004: The Society meets with Labour TD Joe Costello.

The Irish Examiner, 13 March 2004: The Society holds a protest at the Mahon Tribunal;
plus a clarification on the article.

The Kingdom (a Killarney newspaper), 1 April 2004: The Society protests outside a
Progressive Democrats convention.

The Irish Examiner, 3 June 2004: The Society takes test cases to the High Court.

The Sunday Times, 29 May 2005: John Gill comments on the CorruptLawyers.com court case.

The Irish Independent, 10 November 2005: Corrupt lawyers can be named and shamed on website.

The Irish Independent, 10 November 2005: Brian Lavery appreciates the need for RateYourSolicitor.com

RTE Prime Time Special, 29 May 2006: Fighting the Law, complaints against solicitors and how the profession handles them (you need the free RealPlayer to view the video).

The Evening Herald, 30 May 2006: Solicitor Adrian Bourke, who featured in the Prime Time Special, is criticised.

The Sunday Times, 17 September 2006: John Burns evaluates service comparison websites including RateYourSolicitor.com

The Law Society Gazette, November 2006: Brief article about RateYourSolicitor.com

The Limerick Leader, 1 December 2007: Article about the new VLPS caravan tour of the country.

The Irish Independent, 16 December 2007: Gardai called as 'protest wagon' descends on Law Society offices.

The Mayo News, 29 January 2008: The full story on rogue solicitor Michael Lynn, including quotes from RateYourSolicitor.com.

The Evening Herald, 1 February 2008: Public urged Lynn probe for over a year - referring to posts on RateYourSolicitor.com.

The Evening Herald, 27 February 2008: 'Nothing's changed' over rogue solicitors - comments by the
administrator of RateYourSolicitor.com.

The Dáil:

Question about the Society in a Dáil Debate, 23 March 2004: The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Michael McDowell, says he is not interested in meeting the Society.

Articles from the Examiner and the Irish Times from 2003: Michael McDowell promises to bring in a watchdog to oversee the judiciary. So far, there has been no progress.

The Irish Times, 21 January 2005: Michael McDowell is not sure if he will set up an Ombudsman for the Legal Profession due to a potentially overwhelming caseload!

The Irish Times, 21 January 2005: A Regulatory Review Task Force set up by the Law Society makes 56 recommendations for change, including that a majority of the disciplinary body for complaints against solicitors should be non-lawyers.

The Irish Sun, 21 January 2005: The Sun comments on the proposed changes to the way lawyers
accused of wrongdoing are treated.

24 February 2005: Download the Competition Authority report on the legal profession in Ireland (in Adobe PDF format; get a free Adobe Reader)

The Irish Times Weekend Section, 26 February 2005: Fintan O'Toole comments on the new report on the legal profession from the Competition Authority.

The Irish Independent, 23 March 2005: Finance Minister Brian Cowen tells the Dáil he does not "think it appropriate" to extend the Ombudsman's remit to include legal services.

The Irish Times, 13 August 2005: Michael McDowell has decided to establish a legal ombudsman office "in the very near future."

10 January 2006: Download three reports on legal costs in Ireland (in Adobe PDF format; get a free Adobe Reader)

The Irish Times, 11 January 2006: Michael McDowell announces several reforms of the legal system based on the Competition Authority report.

The Irish Independent, 11 January 2006: The new legal reforms should see a fall in the cost of civil action.

The Sunday Business Post, 22 January 2006: How solicitors are mostly to blame for the outrageous cost of going to court.

The Irish Times, 26 October 2006: The Master of the High Court derides the Law Society's comments on costs.

The Irish Times, 25 March 2008: Legal Services Ombudsman will oversee complaints against lawyers.