The Gazette 1967/71

extremely careful never to do or omit anything which might in the smallest way damage it. Lastly, I would like to recommend to my new colleagues that they would continue their studies, either individually or by forming or joining small study groups. This type of activity where two or three solicitors meet in one another's homes once a week and follow some programme of joint study can be of infinite benefit, not only to themselves but also to their profession and to the public and the fact that this is done, not for the purpose of any examination makes it carefree intellectual exercise. I hope also that you will take an active interest in the organisation of the profession by joining the Incorporated Law Society and your Local Bar Association and attend the meetings and other functions of these bodies. It has been customary for my predecessor to impress upon young solicitors the desirability of joining an existing practice as an assistant before attempting to set up practice on their own. I regret to say that this becomes even more necessary every year because the training of Solicitors' apprentices is becoming more and more divorced from practice and office experience and many solicitors now qualifying have very little office experience. However, that can be quickly gained by taking employment in a well established firm. Except for the Solicitor who intends to join the Civil Service permently, I would suggest that they would not take these Civil Service positions be cause the experience will tend to be narrow and the office organisation would be unsuitable to private practice. Do not be afraid to take positions in practices in remote areas. I think, I can say, as a country solicitor, that the best experience for the young solicitor is to be got in a good country practice where the whole field of practice is covered and the assistant always gets a wide scope of personal responsibility. In conclusion I congratulate you all again and repeat my wish that you may have long and successful careers that you will do credit to your selves, to your profession, to your country and to the public that you serve. The following solicitors were presented with their admission parchments: James S. Baylor, Mount View, Fermoy, Co. Cork. Henry C. St. J. Blake, B.A., 39, St. Mary's Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin, 4. Patrick CafTerky, B.C.L., LL.B., 28, 12

therefore the mark of succes of a trader is the amount of money lie makes. The purpose of a profession is the practice of the profession with integrity and skill. The practitioner is, of course, entitled to receive a proper monetary reward and in proper proportion to his skill acquired by long training but the primary purpose of ones' profess ion is its practice. Therefore, the accumulation of wealth is not by any means a mark of success in a solicitor. Indeed it is remarkable that few soli citors do accumulate wealth and if they do, it very seldom comes from their professional activities. I have heard it said that this view is very oldfashion- ed,and that the solicitors should endeavour to become more skillful in specialised fields and should shed his activity in those fields of service where, possibly, he does not require a very high de gree of skill but which are very time consuming and ill-paid, and that in this way he will be able to give a more efficient service to the few who are able to avail of it and command higher remunerat ion for himself. I find that a narrow and material istic view of the function of our profession and one which I cannot accept. It has always been the proud boast of our profession that nobody was ever denied our services in a just cause for the want of money. It has been rather cynically said that we give our services in such causes in the hope that they will lead to more remunerative causes at some future date and solicitors never really work for nothing. That is not true and thank God it is not true. You will find on occas ion you will have to work for nothing without any hope of ever getting anything for your work in the future except the satisfaction of knowing that you have done your duty and played your part in seeing that justice was done. This reward, I assure you, exceeds all others of more material nature. The second thing I would like to impress upon you is that you have entered a profession with very high standards of integrity and one that is held by the public in very great esteem, notwithstand ing, what you might be led to believe by what you hear, see, and read from time to time. There is no profession to which the public confide their secrets and their money with such confidence, a confidence which has been well justified down through the years and very rarely found misplaced. This con fidence of the public is the greatest asset which our profession posseses and every solicitor must be