The Gazette 1971

ARTICLES

Solicitors' European Group Conference

A Joint Conference between the Solicitors' European Group and a group of French lawyers was held in London and the meetings on Friday, April 30th, were held in the Connaught Rooms, while those on Saturday, May 1st were held in the Thames-side Trafalgar Tavern in Greenwich.

Maitre Louis Edmond Pettiti, Secretary-General of the Association of European Jurists, initiated the discussion and stated that the Commission of the European Com- munity had issued a proposed directive, which advo- cated that certain activities of lawyers should hence- forth be freely exchangeable between the signatories of States and applicant States in the Common Market. The rapporteur of the Juridical Commission had advised that this directive (fully quoted by Maitre Pettiti) should be adopted, but in November 1970 the European Parliament declined to do so. The practical measures to re-examine the directive will be brought before a meeting of the Consultative Commission in Milan, Italy, in October 1971, with a view to its being eventually re-examined by the European Parliament, and possibly by the Council of Ministers. The French delegation viewed with concern the attitude taken up hv the Bars of Federal Germany and Luxembourg which influenced their Parliamentary delegates, and expressed their apprehension to the vote taken on 23rd March 1970. Furthermore the French Bar would appear to he placed in an unfavourable position because mem- bers of Bars of Common Market countries could open up chambers in France without ever having practised in their country of origin. While the delegations of France, Italy and the Netherlands were in favour of implementing the directive, the delegations of Belgium, Federal Germany and Luxembourg maintained their opposition on the ground that such a decision should not be made by the Community as a whole; a com- promise may he evolved by means of bilateral treaties between two of the member States which would pro- vide for specific reciprocal rights for their respective lawyers. A bilateral treaty between Britain and France should not be excluded. (This compromise was even- Mr. George Coddard, Chairman of the Solicitors' European Group, in his paper on " The Re-organisation of the Legal Profession within the European Frame- work", learnedly stated that undoubtedly in the future, there was likely to be some alteration in the present situation between lawyers and the Common Market countries—hut the time had not yet come. While there has been, or would tend to be, fusion between Avocats and Avoues in France and Belgium, this practice is not likely to be successful in England, as we are a conser- vative, inward-looking profession, who are proud of our own institutions. However, the following are matters in which changes could be considered : (a) Education; (b) Freedom of movement and of establishment between lawyers; tually reached at the Milan meeting.) Reorganisation of the Legal Profession

(c) The matter of international partnerships and associations is at present being considered by them Council of the Law Society; (d) The question of inter-professional partnerships between lawyers and accountants or surveyors will be considered at the July conference in Paris of the Union Internationale des Avocats. The main differences between our system of legal education and the continental one were : (a) In England, unlike the Continent, a student has not got to attend a university compulsorily and obtain a law degree, in order to practise. (b) In England, the law student obtains his legal professional tuition from special colleges set up by the professional bodies i.e. The College of Law, and the Council of Legal Education. (c) In England, after having passed the Bar Exam- inations, a barrister is fully entitled to practise once he has had six months of pupilage. A solicitor's articled clerk (or apprentice) is supposed to obtain his practical experience during his apprenticeship and, having passed the requisite examinations, he is entitled to practise as soon as the period of apprenticeship is over. The contin- ental practice of serving a "stage" with a master after qualifying before being entitled to practise does not as yet exist in England. Ormrod Committee on Legal Education The Ormrod Committee on Legal Education has pro- posed the following improvements : (a) In future there should be a joint educational course for solicitors and barristers undertaken in univer- sities. (b) This should he followed by a joint one year's vocational course for barristers and solicitors run by the universities—this may give rise to criticism in unin- formed circles. (c) Solicitors will then have a three year period of limited practice, after which they will be entitled to full practice. At the moment, inexperienced articled clerks are not likely to he paid, whereas, under the new system, they would he worthy of proper professional remuneration during their period of limited practice. In the event of Britain entering the Community, it should be stressed that there is no equivalent of barrister or solicitor on the Continent—the solicitor and barrister perform different functions but their teamwork provides a first-class service to the client. As regards the right of establishment, it is agreed that both barrister and soli- citor will at first have the same rights in the municipal field. If the Ormrod Committee proposals are imple-

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