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As we come to the end of our 20th year in practice it has
been another year where the economic recession continues to bite and impact
on everybody's day to day lives.
At Dillon Solicitors it has been no different but there are
signs of light at the end of the tunnel. While the domestic economy
continues to drag there are signs of a stabilisation in unemployment and
that the housing market has begun to bottom out. Prospects for growth
in my view are dependent on a number of crucial issues being addressed
namely the significant concession on the bailout terms for the Government
as well as the enactment and implementation of the Personal Insolvency
Bill. The overhang of domestic borrowing continues to be a huge
impediment to economic recovery.
While 2012 has been another very challenging year for the
Firm we have managed to grow the practice in some very significant
areas. Some examples of this are;
- Acting for Property Receivers.
- Assisting clients in difficulty
with Banks in handling negotiations and advising generally in relation
to these issues.
- Family law - we continue to
offer options of mediation, collaborative law and all other family law
options.
- SME advisory work - we act for
a large number of small and medium sized enterprises in relation to
general advisory work as well as dispute resolution and employment
advice.
- Property - we have seen a
significant increase in property related work. In June 2011 we
launched our "Auction Title Reports" service which has
proved to be a huge success in the various distressed property
auctions.
- Elderly Issues - we have
advised on a whole range of issues in this area including Wills,
Enduring Powers of Attorney, Wards of Court applications, appointment
of Care Representative, as well as assisting clients in extracting
Probate and other related matters.
We are looking forward to 2013 and one hopes that the
property market will continue to recover, the huge issue of personal debt
will be dealt with and the domestic economy will begin to show some signs
of recovery.
In recent years the Firm has invested significant time and
effort in improving its practice management systems. This is good for
our clients as well as the Firm. Putting in place good practice
management systems means that we can carry out our work while delivering a
more efficient and consistent service to our clients. We continue to
monitor client feedback and we wish to thank all of our clients who have
completed client service questionnaires and for your very positive
feedback.
In 2011 we became the first Law Firm practising solely in
the Republic of Ireland to achieve the Lexcel standard which is the
Practice Management standard for Firms operating in the UK. There are
approximately 1200 Firms in the UK who are Lexcel accredited. One of
the largest Firms in Ireland have recently followed suit and other medium
sized firms are also applying for Lexcel.
We underwent our annual Lexel audit in August of this year
and we are pleased to confirm that our accreditation was renewed for a
further year.
We were also delighted during the year to be short listed
for the Leinster Firm of the Year in the Inaugural Irish Law Awards.
During 2013 we plan to provide an e-zine service to our
clients which we hope will be a useful addition to the service you already
receive from us. We hope in the e-zine to focus on practical topics
which will be of benefit to you our clients.
I want, on behalf of everybody at Dillon Solicitors, to
thank you once again for your business in 2012 and to wish you and your
families a very Happy Christmas and a prosperous 2013.
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