Ennis Solicitor Admonished Over Unpaid Senior Counsel Fees

An Ennis-based solicitor has been found guilty of professional misconduct by the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal following a failure to recover fees owed to a Senior Counsel. The regulatory body made its determination on 29 January 2026, ordering formal disciplinary measures and financial restitution against Colum Doherty, principal of C.N. Doherty & Co. Solicitors, based at Steeles Terrace, Lifford Road, Ennis, County Clare.

The proceedings, brought under record number 2025-LPDT38, were initiated by the Complaints Committee of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority pursuant to the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015. The statutory watchdog investigated allegations concerning Mr Doherty’s failure to use best or reasonable endeavours to recover, at the earliest possible opportunity, professional fees properly due to John Gibbons SC. Following a formal inquiry, the tribunal determined that his handling of the matter constituted professional misconduct under Irish legal standards.

Origins in Previous Disciplinary Litigation

The dispute over counsel's remuneration stems from protracted underlying proceedings involving Michael A. O'Brien, a solicitor practising in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. Those earlier matters were linked to an application brought by Pat Murphy before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal under record number 4405/DT12/12, conducted pursuant to the Solicitors Acts 1954 to 2008.

In high-stakes and protracted disciplinary matters, instructing solicitors routinely engage Senior Counsel to provide specialist advocacy and advisory expertise. The tribunal heard that the fees properly accrued by Mr Gibbons in relation to those proceedings were left unrecovered, prompting the intervention of the regulatory complaints mechanism when reasonable steps were not taken to secure payment at the appropriate stage of the case.

Professional Duties and Counsel Recovery Rules

Under long-standing conventions and regulatory codes governing the Irish legal profession, instructing solicitors bear distinct ethical and administrative duties regarding the discharge of barristers' fees. While solicitors retain counsel on behalf of their clients, statutory and professional standards require that they exercise due diligence to ensure that fee claims are vigorously pursued and resolved without unreasonable delay.

A failure by an instructing solicitor to take timely, reasonable measures to secure counsel's remuneration breaches the fundamental duty of administration owed between the branches of the legal profession. In this instance, the tribunal concluded that Mr Doherty failed to satisfy the threshold of reasonable endeavours, rendering his prolonged omission a matter of professional misconduct rather than a mere administrative oversight.

Statutory Sanctions and Restitution Orders

Exercising its statutory enforcement powers under Section 82 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015, the tribunal imposed a series of sanctions designed to provide redress and mark the gravity of the regulatory breach. Pursuant to Section 82(1)(b) of the Act, Mr Doherty was formally admonished for his conduct in the matter.

To address the outstanding financial prejudice suffered by counsel, the tribunal ordered Mr Doherty, under Section 82(1)(i), to pay €5,000 plus VAT as part restitution directly to John Gibbons SC. This sum must be discharged within 28 days of the inquiry hearing date via Fieldfisher LLP, the legal representatives acting on behalf of the regulator. Furthermore, under Section 82(1)(j), the Clare solicitor was ordered to contribute €3,000, inclusive of VAT, towards the regulatory authority’s legal costs, payable within 56 days through the same firm.

Regulatory Oversight in the Irish Legal Market

The outcome demonstrates the ongoing remit of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority in policing professional governance across Ireland. Established to modernise legal oversight and replace internal guild systems, the independent regulatory framework routinely reviews complaints spanning fee disputes, professional standards, and procedural transparency.

For practitioners across the country, the ruling serves as an explicit reminder of the statutory obligations surrounding barrister fee recovery. The tribunal’s decision makes clear that a failure by an instructing solicitor to diligently pursue monies legally and properly owed to briefed counsel will meet with formal disciplinary action, public censure, and mandatory financial restitution orders.