The Gazette 1980

GAZETTE

MARCH/APRIL

1980

Seminar Comment The seminar "Freedom and the Media" held in Black- hall Place, 9 February 1980, attracted over 120 media personnel, many of them from the provinces and some from the North. The response was strong, particularly during the sessions dealing with news reporting, and an excellent rapport was established between members of the profession present and the Press/TV/Radio personnel. Immediate coverage by the media included news reports on both TV and Radio in addition to reports in evening and daily national newspapers, and subsequently in the RTE-2 Printout some days later. Mr. Jacob Ecclestone, the President of the London- based National Union of Journalists, was among the speakers and — at the close of the proceedings - speaking from the floor warmly thanked the Society for organising the seminar and expressed the wish that some similar project could be run in Britain. A number of the participants took the trouble to express personally to Society personnel their apprecia- tion of the sessions, adding that they felt them to be of direct benefit. "Freedom and the Media" was a project of the Public Relations Committee with the President, Mr. Walter Beatty; Senior Vice-President, Mrs. Moya Quinlan, and Chairman of the PR Committee Mr. Frank O'Donnell presiding at the sessions. Mr. Michael V. O'Mahoney and Mr. John F. Buckley discussed libel and contempt of court in lively session which brought many questions from the floor. [See photographs right! • Good Response to series of Conveyancing Courses The professions response to the first series of Conveyancing courses and the new continuing Legal Education Programme has been heartening. By the time the first of the five courses in the advertised series took place, booking for all five courses was so heavy that a further complete series was arranged for the April-May period. Indeed one of the courses, that on Investigation of Title, has proved so popular that it is planned to present it on a third occasion. Over 350 applications for courses in these series have been received. Future series of courses in Probate and in Administra- tion of Estates are planned for the Autumn (and it is hoped some of these can be arranged for venues outside the Dublin area). A series of courses in Applied Com- pany Law is also being considered. The continuing Legal Education Programme is administered by the Society's Training Specialist and Course Organiser, Patrick Quinn, who will be very pleased to hear from members with suggestions for future courses.

employer is invariably represented before that tribunal. The employee sometimes is not, and if he is not a member of a trade union it is likely that he will not be represented. The Department contends that procedures are so simplified that it is not necessary to provide civil legal aid for representation. A person is over-awed if he has never appeared before a tribunal: people in the weaker section of the community have a problem. A person is disadvantaged who has never appeared before a tribunal before, and is opposed by someone who appears regularly. We ask the Department to have a second look at our representations because the weaker elements of the community should be catered for in this important area." The President concluded by remarking that one of the best ways of trying to be fair, good and efficient as a lawyer is to keep up-to-date. Qualified solicitors should continue their education through seminars run by the Society, and by the Society of Young Solicitors. Law can change very swiftly, and unless solicitors keep up-to-date they will have enormous problems. The Society provides a wide range of services for its members; the Solicitors' Benevolent Association assists, in a very real way, the widows and children of solicitors who have met misfortune, the Society of Young Solicitors is ongoing in the educational services which it provides for all its members. If newly-qualified solicitors have not joined these bodies already, then it is one of the first things they must do and also become members of their local Bar Association.

Valuations... Osborne King and Megran o * -

A professional service for the legal profession

Osborne King and Megran ESTATE AGENTS AUCTIONEERS A N D VALUERS V2 Molt",worth Street Dublin 2 Telephone Dublin ( O ' i / 6 0 2 61 Tele» 4622 ( )tt.. i • iiiv.u' (. ,rk f»(jlw(jy Brl'usl und iorirton

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