The Gazette 1964/67

Continuing Education The need to be completely familiar witli their subject will be so generally accepted that mem bers of the profession will set aside a fixed period, weekly or monthly or for a week or so a year, for high level refresher courses. These courses will be supplemented throughout the year by instructional pamphlets which will be made avail able^ to those practising in each particular field of law. Advanced courses of longer duration will be pz'ovided for those wishing to enter or occupying the higer positions in local government or industry on such subjects as management and business efficiency. All those concerned with criminal practice and procedure will be trained and kept up to date in the forensic sciences and, generally, members of the profession will be au fait with current affairs, the availability of social services, labour conditions and so on. Contentious Business In the field of litigation both civil and criminal cases will be undertaken in a number of local circuit courts throughout the country. One appeal only will lie, except that the appeal judges may refer a case raising a point of law to general importance, at the expense of the State, for de termination by the House of Lords of ultimate Court of Appeal. There will be separate courts or divisions for crime, civil litigation, divorce and matrimonial problems generally, traffic cases and so on. The costs of all successful appeals in civil litigation will be borne by the State and not fall on the party who succeeded in the court of first instance. The Indemnity Rule will have dis appeared and each party will bear his own costs except where the court otherwise directs lor good cause. Legal aid in civil cases will be available in all courts and before all tribunals without any means limits being imposed. The control over the avail ability of legal aid will be exercised only by the provisions regulationg the amount of the contri bution to be paid out of income and capital respectively. The legal aid procedure in criminal cases will be in line with that in civil cases and those obtaining assistance under it will be re quired to make contributions on the same basis as civil litigants, those convicted being required to pay out of earnings from work undertaken while serving prison sentences.

Practising as a Lawyer Law firms will have become associations of lawyers each specialising in particular branches of legal business. It will be no rarity for firms in the big cities to consist of fifty or more lawyers as do many legal firms in the United States. Partners will practise in certain specific sub jects only. Certificates to practise will be issued in respect of certain broad fields of legal activity, for example : (i) company, commercial and rev enue business; (ii) family business—covering con veyancing, trusts, will and the administration of estates; (iii) criminal law or (iv) civil litigation. The larger firms will have in partnership ac countants, surveyors and even doctors and other professional men, while smaller firms will work in the closest association with members of such other professions, in order to provide an efficient service for their clients. All lawyers will be expected to possess a know ledge of finance and taxation in all their branches and those in general practice concerned with commercial and company activities will have a considerable knowledge of their clients' businesses. Many firms will have offices overseas and most of the larger firms concerned with international business will have lawyers qualified to appear before national courts other than their own and before international courts of law. The lawyers so qualified to practise before such courts will have undergone special training and will be sub ject not only to their national code of ethics but to special rules laid down by an international law society or bar association. The proportion of lawyers employed wholetime in commerce and industry will have increased substantially as more and more of the major in dustries will have found it advantageous to have lawyers familiar with their business readily avail able wholetime and as a result many more lawyers than at present v/ill be found in management and on the boards of directors of companies Lawyers in commerce and industry will properly be regarded as practising with but a single client and, as members of the profession, will be bound by the normal rules of professional ethics and will preserve their proper professional independ ence. Office staff generally will consist of assistant lawyers, secretarial assistants and machine oper ators. The telephone and telex will be supple mented by private television which will enable documents to be seen and photographed im mediately in other offices, so reducing the need for copy-typing and avoiding time wasted in postal exchanges of drafts. 132