Ennis Solicitor Admonished Over Failure to Recover Counsel Fees

An Ennis-based solicitor has been admonished and ordered to pay restitution and costs after being found guilty of professional misconduct by the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal. The disciplinary finding against Colum Doherty, principal of C.N. Doherty & Co. Solicitors located at Steeles Terrace in Ennis, County Clare, followed an investigation and application brought forward by the Complaints Committee of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority.

The inquiry centred on allegations that Mr Doherty failed to use his best or reasonable endeavours to recover fees properly owed to a senior member of the Irish Bar. According to the regulatory findings published on 29 January 2026, the misconduct arose in connection with earlier, separate disciplinary proceedings involving an application by Pat Murphy regarding a solicitor based in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary.

Failure to Protect Barrister Fees

In the Irish legal system, solicitors routinely instruct independent barristers—including Senior Counsel—to act in complex contentious matters, disciplinary hearings, and civil proceedings before the Superior Courts. Under long-standing professional conduct principles, instructing solicitors carry clear duties regarding outlay, professional disbursements, and the recovery of fees properly earned by retained counsel. When retaining external counsel, solicitors are expected to pursue costs diligently and safeguard third-party remuneration at the earliest practical juncture.

The Disciplinary Tribunal determined that Mr Doherty fell short of these professional standards. Specifically, the tribunal found him guilty of professional misconduct because he failed to use best or reasonable endeavours to secure and recover professional fees that were properly due to John Gibbons SC in relation to the Tipperary-linked disciplinary case. The statutory regulator found that these recovery efforts should have been undertaken at the earliest possible opportunity following the conclusion of the substantive legal work.

Statutory Powers and Sanctions

Following the adverse finding, the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal exercised its powers under section 82(1) of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 to impose formal sanctions on the Clare practitioner. In addition to issuing a formal admonishment on his professional record, the tribunal directed financial restitution to the affected Senior Counsel.

Under the tribunal’s order, Mr Doherty was directed to pay €5,000 plus VAT to Mr Gibbons SC by way of part restitution. That sum was ordered to be discharged within 28 days of the inquiry hearing date and remitted through Fieldfisher LLP, the legal firm representing the regulatory authority. Furthermore, the tribunal ordered the respondent solicitor to pay a contribution of €3,000 inclusive of VAT toward the costs incurred by the Legal Services Regulatory Authority in bringing and prosecuting the disciplinary application, with that sum payable within 56 days of the inquiry hearing.

Regulatory Oversight in the Irish Legal Sector

The establishment of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority and the independent Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal marked a profound shift in the oversight of Irish legal professionals. Designed to enhance transparency and public accountability across both branches of the profession—solicitors and barristers—the statutory regime provides an independent forum to investigate service failures, excessive charging, and professional misconduct that would historically have been handled internally by the Law Society of Ireland or the Bar of Ireland.

Disciplinary outcomes addressing inter-professional fee recovery underscore the broader expectations placed on officers of the court. Whether managing personal injury actions, tribunal hearings, or complaints before professional regulatory bodies, solicitors retain an overarching duty to manage client and counsel finances with rigorous administrative efficiency. Regulatory bodies continue to signal that prolonged administrative inaction or neglect in satisfying legitimate counsel fees undermines the administration of justice and warrants a formal disciplinary sanction.