In-house solicitors in the private and public sectors who wish to carry out pro-bono work should ensure that they meet their statutory regulatory requirements with regard to the Solicitors Acts 1954-2015, professional indemnity insurance (PII), and practising certificates.

Pro-bono work cannot be provided by in-house solicitors to third parties under the title of their employer. Bodies corporate are prohibited under the Solicitors Acts from acting as a solicitor, and in-house solicitors may only provide legal services to their employer, not to third parties.

Section 64 of the Solicitors Act 1954 prohibits bodies corporate, their directors, or servants from doing any act of such nature or in such manner as to imply that the body corporate is qualified, or recognised by law as qualified, to act as a solicitor. Contravention of this section is a criminal offence.

Under section 59 of the Solicitors Act 1954, solicitors are prohibited from acting as an agent for an unqualified person (including bodies corporate) so as to enable that unqualified person or body corporate to act as a solicitor. Solicitors are prohibited from permitting their name to be made use of, in business carried on by the solicitor as a solicitor, upon the account of or for the profit of an unqualified person or body corporate. Contravention of this section is professional misconduct.

As such, in-house solicitors who wish to provide legal services (which constitute any services of a legal or financial nature) to third parties, including pro-bono legal services, must provide such services through the structure of a solicitor firm or independent law centre. The Society must be notified of such work to ensure that you are linked to the firm or independent law centre. This can be arranged by providing the Society with a letter or email from the firm or independent law centre confirming that you also provide legal services through that entity, and are covered by their PII. This confirmation can be sent to the Law Society by email to pc@lawsociety.ie.

In-house solicitors providing pro-bono legal services to third parties should ensure that they are covered by the PII of the solicitor firm or independent law centre through which they are providing the legal services, especially if they are not an employee of the firm or independent law centre. Any cover provided by a body corporate does not meet the statutory PII requirements in this jurisdiction, as such cover must be provided by a solicitor firm or independent law centre.

Solicitors are required to have a current practising certificate in place in order to provide legal services of any kind.

A solicitor in the full-time service of the State (‘State solicitor’) is defined under the Solicitors Acts 1954-2015 as a solicitor required to devote the whole of their time to the service of the State as a solicitor and is remunerated in respect of such service wholly out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

State solicitors are not required to hold a practising certificate so long as they only provide legal services to their employer, the State.

If a State solicitor wishes to provide legal services, including pro-bono legal services, to third parties, they are required to obtain a practising certificate and have the necessary PII cover extended to them by the firm or independent law centre.