GSBA Posts

13 July 2015

Papers left in the bar room Galway Courthouse

Dear Colleagues

Unfortunately we must notify you of the ongoing problem with briefs and papers being left in the Bar Room, especially after the High Court sessions.

We must remind you of all of our duties and obligations in respect of data protection and privacy. The Bar Room can be accessed quite easily by members of the public and some practitioners simply don’t have any respect for the privacy of their clients in that they leave behind large quantities of documents containing medical, financial and other sensitive information of their clients.

While it is clear that the vast majority of the documents abandoned take the form of briefs given to barristers, the instructing solicitor must also take responsibility for allowing such reckless behavior to go unchecked. I can say for myself that where I find that a barrister has been instructed by me and has left papers in the Bar Room, he/she will never be instructed again by me.

We have been reliably informed that the Commissioner for Data Protection has been notified of the ongoing breach.

You have been warned!