The Gazette 1987

GAZETTE

JULY/ A UGUST

1987

First Solicitors' and Barristers' Joint Conference — Wexford

" As the Barrister drives off merrily into the sunset, he looks in his rere view mirror and watches the client impaling his Solicitor on the Court- house railings." This graphic image emerged in the course of a discussion on one of the average solicitor's most heart-felt complaints about the Bar, namely counsel's ability to vanish when a case goes badly in Court, leaving only the solicitor to face the wrath of the client. This was only one of the most minor of a score of topics of interest arising out of the relation- ship be tween solicitors and barristers which was examined and discussed at the first ever weekend con f e r ence i nvo l v i ng both branches of the profession. Perhaps the most remarkable thing is not that this conference happened but, rather, that it had never happened before. To the out- sider, it would have seemed per- fectly natural that solicitors and barristers wou ld meet for a

weekend, in this age of the Con- ference. No one, after all, has more in common with each other than they have, being in reality two branches of the same profession.

to the then-Chairman of the Bar Council, Patrick McEntee S.C., approximately a year ago. Once certain details had been clarified, Mr. McEntee enthusiastically sup- ported the project and in turn obtained the endorsement of the Bar Council for it. Without this support it could not have taken place. While the Society of Young Solicitors has existed and organised conferences for over 21 years, no equivalent organisation exists to represent the Junior Bar. An ad hoc committee was set up, however, with three Solicitor re- presentatives and three from the Bar and this worked for several months to make the necessary arrangements. The bulk of the daunting organisational work in selling the idea for this conference to an initially rather sceptical and conservative market within the Law Library was performed by the Joint Chairman of the Conference, Charles Meenan, B.L. These efforts culminated in the extremely im- pressive number of almost a hundred barristers who attended in Wexford. While the majority of conference delegates arrived in time to avail of the Friday night bar extension and disco, the conference proper commenced on the Saturday morning, under the chairmanship of Charles Meenan, with a lecture entitled "Recent Developments in Personal Injury Litigation" given jointly by Diarmaid 0 ' Donovan S.C. and Gerard O ' Kee f f e, Solicitor. This was a most en- lightening, practical and enjoyable exposition by t wo experts on probably the single most important area of litigation practice. The real centrepiece of the con- ference followed it at approxi- mately 11.30a.m. and was entitled " Op en Forum Discussion — Towards a Better Understanding between Solicitors and Barristers". * Solicitor, member of Law Society Council and Chairman of the Society of Young Solicitors.

by Ken Murphy*

It had never happened before in Ireland, however. Indeed, insofar as could be ascertained after several enquiries, it had never happened in Britain either. The uniqueness and perhaps without wishing to sound too pompous about it, the historic nature, of the joint conference held at the Talbot Hotel, Wexford on 4th and 5th April, 1987 by the Society of Young Solicitors and the Junior Bar deserves to be noted. The idea for the conference was first put by the writer of this article

(left to right) Mr. Seamus McKenna, Chairman of the Bar Council; Mr. Ken Murphy, Chairman of the Society of Young Solicitors; Mr. Charles Meenan, Conference Organiser on behalf of The Junior Bar and Mr. David R. Pigot, President of The Law Society.

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