John Elliot, director of regulation, said the Law Society had recently met to discuss whether firms were breaching strict advertising rules by highlighting high-profile litigation over failures in cervical cancer screening.

Terminal patient Vicky Phelan received €2.5 million in damages in a recent case, while Mhic Mhathúna settled for €7.5 million and an admission of liability.

Following the meeting, the committee decided to direct that “any advertising content published by a solicitor … that refers to the CervicalCheck controversy must be withdrawn”, Mr Elliot said.

“Any reference” to the CervicalCheck scandal would be investigated as a potential breach of rules banning the use of “dramatic or emotive words and pictures” in adverts, he added.

The Law Society conducted at least two investigations last year related to adverts mentioning the CervicalCheck scandal.