The Gazette 1964/67

WEEKEND SEMINAR IN MULLINGAR A seminar weekend was held at The Greville Arms Hotel, Mullingar, by the Society of Young Solicitors in association and with the co-operation of the General Council of Provincial Solicitors' Association and the Midland Bar Association on the 26th and 27th March. The attendance at the seminar was so far in excess of the original esti mate that all accommodation in Mullingar was completely booked out, and some members atten ding had to stay overnight as far away as Kinne- gad and Longford. This was the first convention of its kind ever to be held in this country. There were four sessions, and each session consisted of a lecture, after which the members formed discussion groups of fifteen to twenty members each, and these groups then discussed the lecture. After half an hour, the chairman of each discussion group was invited to put up to three questions, selected by his group, to the lecturer, who answered the queries raised on his subject. The first lecture, on the Saturday afternoon, was given by Mr. A. J. O'Dwyer, Deputy Regis trar of Title, on the subject of Registration of Title. Mr. William McGuire, solicitor, delivered his paper on the Succession Act, 1965, on the Saturday night. On Sunday morning Mr. Vincent Grogan, B.L., travelled from Dublin to deliver his paper on the Finance Act, 1965, and on Sunday afternoon Mr. Patrick Kilroy, M.A., gave his lec ture on Companies and Finance Legislation. The seminar could not have been a success without the co-operation of each of the lecturers, who, without exception, showed that they had studied their subjects thoroughly, and proved this by the very able manner in which they coped with the series of questions at the end of each session. The brunt of organisation of the weekend was borne by Tom Shaw, Secretary of the Midland Bar Association, who dealt with hotel bookings and on the spot arrangements, and Norman Spendlove, Treasurer of the S.Y.S., who must be singled out for their mammoth work. Socially, members took advantage of the oppor tunity of meeting their brethren who came from as far away as Donegal, Cork, Kerry, Glaway, Waterford and Louth, and the Saturday night session stretched far into the early hours of Sun day morning. Despite this there was full attan- dance at the Sunday morning session. Another semina r will be held in Cork on the 102

instance. Where special advice or service is needed from an expert in a particular field, this is now available with a wide choice from the Bar and also at modest cost. A united legal profession is no more practical than a united medical profession for I do not think that a lawyer can fill the role of barrister as well as solicitor any more than a doctor can be both a general practitioner and a surgeon. The only way in which a united legal profession could work is in large partnerships where general prac titioners and specialists work together. This would only have the effect of increasing the cost of legal services and cutting oft from all but wealthy clientele the top experts. There is nothing inherently wrong in having more than one legal profession. After all, France has three distinct legal branches—the avocats, the avoues, and the notaires. The avocat is a barrister, the avoue a restricted form of solicitor and the notaire combines a judicial function with that of a solicitor in conveyancing and probate practice. In Quebec, while there is fusion of the barristers' and solicitors' professions, the notaire still belongs to a separate profession. The only significant defect in our present system of which I am aware is the multiplicity of our law schools but fusion would only eliminate one of them. If specific defects do in fact exist, it would be more satisfactory to rectify these individually. I am satisfied from my own experience that the destruction of our present system and the creation of one legal profession would create many more difficulties than it could possibly cure. G.A.L.

COMMISSIONERS OF CHARITABLE DONATIONS AND BEQUESTS BOARD MEETINGS (Easter and Trinity Terms)

Tuesday, 26th April 1966 Tuesday, 10th May 1966 Tuesday, 24th May 1966 Tuesday, 14th June 1966 Tuesday, 28th June 1966 Tuesday, 12th July 1966 Tuesday, 26th July 1966

J. S. MARTIN

Secretary