More than 50 solicitors resign from legal aid panel after introduction of new €520 flat fee
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EN: The Present Perfect Tense ('have resigned') is used here to describe an action that happened in the recent past but has a strong relevance or impact on the present situation.
Several board members have resigned in protest of the new policy.
EN: The phrase 'More than' is used as a quantifier meaning 'over' or 'exceeding' a specific number, functioning as a modifier for the subject '50 solicitors'.
More than 100 people attended the seminar yesterday.
EN: In Ireland and the UK, the legal profession is divided into 'solicitors' (who traditionally deal directly with clients, prepare cases, and handle general legal matters) and 'barristers' (who represent clients in higher courts). The 'criminal legal aid panel' refers to the list of private lawyers who are paid by the state to represent defendants who cannot afford their own legal representation.
EN: The subordinating conjunction 'after' is used to connect two clauses, showing that the action in the main clause ('The resignations happened') occurred subsequent to the action in the adverbial clause ('the Government introduced...').
The guests left after the party ended.
EN: The Simple Past Tense ('happened', 'introduced') is used to describe completed actions that took place at a specific time in the past.
She started her new job last week.
EN: The term 'flat fee' refers to a single fixed fee for a service, regardless of usage or the amount of time spent. In legal aid systems, flat fees are often controversial because lawyers argue they do not fairly compensate for complex cases that require many hours of work.
EN: Passive Voice (is paid): Used when the action is more important than the agent performing it. It is formed with 'be' + past participle.
The salary is paid to employees at the end of every month.
EN: Defining Relative Clause (who represent...): Introduced by the relative pronoun 'who' to define or give essential information about the preceding noun 'solicitors'.
We need to hire managers who speak fluent English.
EN: In legal systems like Ireland's, there is a distinction between 'solicitors' (who generally handle out-of-court legal work and represent clients in lower courts like district courts) and 'barristers' (who specialize in courtroom advocacy in higher courts). This sentence specifically mentions solicitors representing clients at district courts.
EN: The verb 'stop' is followed by a gerund (verb-ing) when it means to cease performing an action. This is different from 'stop to do', which means to pause one activity in order to start another.
She stopped buying plastic bottles to protect the environment.
EN: The present perfect tense ('have/has + past participle') is used here to describe an action that happened in the recent past and has a strong relevance or result in the present.
Many workers have walked out of the factory in protest.
EN: Non-defining relative clauses (using 'which') add extra, non-essential information about a noun. They are separated from the main clause by commas, and 'which' cannot be replaced by 'that'.
The new law, which was proposed last year, has finally been passed.
EN: The phrasal verb 'come into effect' means to start being applicable or active, especially regarding laws, rules, or systems.
The new tax regulations will come into effect next month.
EN: In parliamentary democracies like Ireland, government ministers (such as the Justice Minister) have the authority to introduce administrative changes or regulations, which can sometimes lead to significant public debate or protests from professional bodies like the Law Society.
EN: The prepositional phrase 'According to' is used to state the source of information, indicating where the facts or opinions come from. It is typically followed by a noun or noun phrase.
According to the weather forecast, it will rain tomorrow.
EN: The simple past tense of the verb 'to be' ('were' for plural subjects) is used here to describe a state or situation that existed at a specific time in the past ('on that date').
Many students were in the library yesterday afternoon.
EN: In Ireland and the UK, the legal profession is divided into 'solicitors' and 'barristers'. Solicitors generally deal directly with clients, handle paperwork, and represent clients in lower courts (like district courts). The 'legal aid panel' refers to a list of private lawyers who are paid by the government to represent clients who cannot afford their own legal defense.
EN: The Past Perfect Tense ('had' + past participle) is used to describe an action that was completed before a specific point in the past. In this sentence, 'had officially resigned' happened before the past time marker 'By Tuesday of this week'.
By the time the meeting started, she had already finished the report.
EN: The preposition 'by' is used to indicate a deadline or a point in time 'not later than'. When paired with a past time, it often triggers the use of the past perfect tense.
By 10 PM last night, all the guests had left.
EN: In legal contexts, a 'panel' refers to an official list of professionals (in this case, solicitors/lawyers) who are eligible and registered to provide specific services, such as state-funded legal aid. Resigning from the panel means they will no longer accept state-funded cases, which is a common form of protest among legal professionals against government fee cuts.
EN: Present Perfect Tense (has opposed): Used here to describe an action that happened in the past but has strong relevance to the current situation. It is formed with 'have/has' + past participle.
The government has proposed a new law to protect the environment.
EN: Adverbial Clause of Reason (because...): Introduced by the conjunction 'because' to explain the reason or cause for the action in the main clause.
She decided to walk to work because the weather was beautiful.
EN: The Law Society of Ireland is the professional body for solicitors in Ireland. In common law jurisdictions like Ireland, the legal profession is often split between 'solicitors' (who deal directly with clients and handle general legal matters) and 'barristers' (who represent clients in higher courts).
EN: Apposition (同位語): A grammatical construction where two noun phrases are placed side-by-side to identify or explain the other. Here, 'the Law Society president' is an appositive that identifies who 'Rosemarie Loftus' is. It is set off by commas.
Mr. Green, the school principal, will give a speech tomorrow.
EN: Noun Clause as Direct Object (名詞子句作直接賓語): The conjunction 'that' introduces a noun clause ('that the new fee will create legal deserts') which functions as the direct object of the reporting verb 'warned'. 'That' can optionally be omitted in informal contexts.
She warned that the road was very slippery.
EN: The term 'legal deserts' is a metaphor analogous to 'food deserts'. It refers to geographic areas or communities where there is a severe shortage of lawyers, particularly those who provide affordable or free legal aid to low-income individuals. In this context, the Law Society of Ireland warns that low fees will discourage solicitors from taking on legal aid cases, leaving poor defendants without representation.
EN: The relative adverb 'where' is used to introduce a relative clause (adjective clause) that modifies a noun of place (in this case, 'areas'). It functions as an adverbial of place within the relative clause, meaning 'in which'.
This is the town where I was born.
EN: The relative clause 'who need it' uses the relative pronoun 'who' as the subject of the clause to modify the antecedent 'people'. Since 'people' is plural, the verb 'need' agrees with it in the plural form.
The government should help families who live in poverty.
EN: In the UK and Ireland, the legal profession is split into 'solicitors' (who deal directly with clients, prepare cases, and handle general legal matters) and 'barristers' (who represent clients in higher courts). 'Legal aid' refers to government-funded legal services for those who cannot afford to pay, ensuring access to justice for all.
EN: The preposition 'under' is used here to mean 'governed by' or 'according to' a particular system, law, or agreement.
Under the new rules, employees can work from home twice a week.
EN: The coordinating conjunction 'and' connects two parallel clauses sharing the same subject ('solicitors') and verb ('received'). In the second part, 'solicitors received' is omitted to avoid repetition.
She bought a book for ten dollars and a pen for two dollars.
EN: In common law jurisdictions like Ireland and the UK, the legal profession is split into 'solicitors' (who handle general legal matters and prepare cases) and 'barristers' (who represent clients in higher courts). This sentence refers to solicitors representing clients in the lower 'district courts' under the state-funded legal aid scheme.
EN: Noun clause as direct object: The conjunction 'that' introduces a noun clause ('that 81 percent of solicitors said...') which functions as the direct object of the transitive verb 'found'. In reporting verbs like 'find', 'say', or 'think', 'that' is often used to introduce the reported information.
The study showed that regular exercise improves sleep quality.
EN: Second Conditional (Subjunctive Mood): The clause 'if the changes were made' uses the past simple tense ('were made') to express a hypothetical or unlikely condition in the present or future. The main clause uses 'would' + base verb ('would resign') to show the hypothetical result.
If they offered me the job, I would accept it.
EN: In Ireland and the UK, 'solicitors' are lawyers who traditionally deal with most of the legal matters in court, prepare cases, and advise clients, whereas 'barristers' represent clients in the higher courts. 'Criminal legal aid' refers to state-funded legal representation for individuals who cannot afford to pay for a lawyer themselves, ensuring access to justice.
EN: Noun Clause as Direct Object: The conjunction 'that' introduces a noun clause ('that the changes will cause...') which functions as the direct object of the transitive verb 'predicted'. It reports the content of the prediction.
The economist predicted that inflation would decrease next year.
EN: Noun Prepositional Phrase: The prepositional phrase 'of solicitors' modifies the noun 'exodus', specifying who is departing, while 'from the scheme' indicates the source of the departure.
There was a sudden exodus of workers from the factory.
EN: In Ireland and the UK, the legal profession is split into 'solicitors' (who deal directly with clients and handle general legal matters) and 'barristers' (who represent clients in higher courts). The 'Law Society of Ireland' is the professional body for solicitors in Ireland, representing their interests and regulating the profession.
Key vocabulary words with IPA pronunciation, definitions, example sentences, and interactive quizzes.
Phrases with type tags, bilingual definitions, usage notes, and example sentences.
Free legal advice or representation in court provided by the state for people who cannot afford to pay for it.
A single fixed fee for a service, regardless of the amount of time or work involved.
To begin to apply or be used; to become active (especially of a law, rule, or system).
An area where there are not enough lawyers or legal services available to meet the needs of the local population.