The Gazette 1985

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1985

GAZETTE

Apprenticeship — In-Office Training — Suggestions for Improvement In endeavouring, with limited resources, to monitor apprenticeship, the professors from the Law School have visited a number of offices, to discuss with Masters and apprentices the progress of the in-office training period. A number of useful suggestions have come from the discussions with Masters and apprentices which take place during such visits. It has been thought useful to compile a list of these suggestions which are set out below. It is appreciated that many of these suggestions will already have been put into effect in many offices, none- theless there may be others which it may be thought appropriate to adopt. (a) Allow the apprentice — with the client's consent — to sit in on interviews and later allow the apprentice to interview clients; (b) have the apprentice deal with a file from beginning to end rather than pitching him in in the middle of a case; (c) if the apprentice is given a file which is already running he should be acquainted with the present state of the file and the office's policy in relation to the case before it is handed to him; (d) apprentices should be brought to court from time to time so that they can observe what happens in court and become more acquainted with Advocacy in action; (e) the apprentice could be given the job of reading the journals and passing around notes to keep people in the office up-to-date with developments; ( 0 if acceptable, the apprentice should be encouraged and given time to become familiar with the office book-keeping system; (g) one person — usually, but not necessarily, the master — should be responsible for the apprentices' in-office training. A record of attendance and progress to be kept; (h) formal meetings, even if brief, to be held on a regular basis between master and apprentice to review progress of the apprenticeship. Initially these could be say each 4-6 weeks, later quarterly should suffice. The information process should be two-way and designed to produce mutual benefit. Central to the idea of apprenticeship is that, over the training period, the apprentices should become familiar with all the areas of practice in which the office engages. It is in the performance of the role of a lawyer, to the extent that an apprentice's experience and practice skills permit, that the learning initiatives occur. The master should seize every opportunity of showing the apprentice how to recognise and handle ethical problems and issues of professional responsibility. The apprentice should learn how to conduct himself towards and show courtesy to the client, the Court and his colleagues, especially his more senior colleagues. •

'Our Progressive and Professional Team' OUR PROFESS IONAL SERVICES VALUATIONS RENT REVIEWS LEASE RENEWALS ARBITRATIONS CAPITAL GAINS AND PROBATE VALUATION RATING APPEALS AND INSURANCE VALUATION COMPULSORY PURCHASE ORDERS OUR VALUAT ION TEAM Anthony M. Sherry F.S.VA, F.IAV.I.

Gordon H. Gill F.R.I.C.S. Philip G. Sherry A.R.I.C.S.

k B H W

&Partners MERR I ON ROW, DUBL IN 2 Q 6 0 5 0 55 • 7 6 5 6 66

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