The High Court has allowed solicitor Orla Ellis to obtain a transcript of a hearing in proceedings brought by the Law Society of Ireland, and declined to place restrictions on how she may use it.
Mr Justice Garrett Simons delivered the ruling on 13 November 2023. The application concerned the digital audio recording of a hearing on 18 August 2022, when orders were made by consent in proceedings under the Solicitors Acts 1954 to 2015.
The 2022 orders suspended Ellis from practising as a solicitor and directed that funds in her office and client accounts be paid to the Law Society for reimbursement to clients in anticipation of potential claims on its compensation fund. The judgment records that the Law Society had outlined allegations including unauthorised transfers of substantial fees and unpaid charitable bequests. The anticipated deficit was estimated at about €566,000. These were allegations described as background to the transcript application, not findings made in the 2023 ruling.
Ellis sought the transcript because she was concerned that material in the grounding affidavit had been referred to in print media despite not being read aloud in court. The judgment says it was alleged that the material had been “leaked”. The judge explained that documents on the court file may be reported by bona fide media, provided reporting is fair and accurate, even if the documents were read by the judge in advance and not read aloud in open court.
The judge granted access to the transcript, saying Ellis was entitled to know precisely what had happened in court in proceedings potentially affecting her livelihood and right to practise. He refused the Law Society’s suggestion that use of the transcript be restricted or that Ellis be required to return to court before relying on it in other proceedings. The ruling does not determine the prospects or outcome of any such other proceedings.
The order is subject to the usual undertaking under Order 123 of the Rules of the Superior Courts to pay the costs of producing the transcript. The judge made no order for the legal costs of the 2023 application.