The Gazette 1987

JULY/ A UGUST

1987

GAZETTE

the Circuit and High Courts on behalf of their clients. This led inevitably to the question of whether any justification now existed for the rigid separation of the t wo branches of the profession. A l t hough many different views were expressed on this, there was a consensus that the preparation of a case, and the presentation of that case in Court are essentially different functions and are more efficiently carried out by separate people in the interests of everyone, particularly the client. With the trend towards in- creased pre-trial procedures, it was felt to be probably inevitable that the art of oral advocacy will decline somewhat in the future but there will always be a need for it particularly at the Criminal Bar. In general, barristers develop an expertise in advocacy wh i ch solicitors do not have and it is both more effective and cheaper for a client if a barrister's services are used in litigation than if they are not. Criticism and defence of both the 'two- Senior -and-compulsory- Junior' rule followed. The 'direct access' issue was also touched on w i t h a number of speakers remarking on the dangers to both branches of the profession if the in- cidence were to increase of counsel taking instructions from clients without solicitors being present. There appeared to be wide- spread support for the concept of merging the Blackhall Place and Kings Inns education systems to a much larger extent and this led to the final part of the discussion which was on the question of co- operation between both branches

The fact that this can be irritating for the judge as well as for the counsel was illustrated by a story told from the back of the hall by Paddy McEntee when he describ- ed how on one occasion on the Northern Circuit the interruptions became so intolerably persistent that he turned to his solicitor and in a loud stage whisper told him to / ' * * * * o f f !" which elicited the ap- probation "Well said, Mr. McEntee' from the Judge! Following this contribution, the discussion within the packed con f e r ence hall (there was standing room only at the back) really took off and the chairman was faced with a forest of hands in the air from which to choose as speaker followed speaker. Contri- butions ranged over such matters as how to get papers back from dilatory counsel (a caustic rhyming telegram took the prize here), an appeal for solicitors to pay counsel's fees more quickly and the question of whether counsel should abandon the role of 'general practitioner' and develop more specialised knowledge of specific areas of law. On the latter issue, the barristers argued that the market was too small in this country for a great deal of specialisation but it was agreed that future trends would probably be in this direction. There was enthusiastic support among solicitors for the idea that the Bar Council should publish a guide to enable identification of special expertise among barristers. There followed several contri- butions on the question of whether or not solicitors should more frequently undertake advocacy in

This began as a panel discussion between three solicitors, Michael Houlihan, Frank Ward and Helen Doyle, on the one hand, and three barristers, Peter Shanley, Fergus O'Hagan and Katherine Shepherd, on the other hand, and it was chaired by this writer. It quickly developed, as intended, into an entirely open exchange of opinions, suggestions and observations involving the audience at large. The solicitors were first asked to describe the qualities they look for in the counsel whom they brief. The emphasis was on speed, punctuality, knowledge of the law, approachability and in particular the ability to communi- cate concern about the case to the client. The barristers were then asked to suggest ways in which solicitors could make a counsel's job easier. Leaving telephone numbers when names are given at the Law Library for 'call-back' was one example. Not having unrealistic expectations about how quickly papers can be returned was another. Much dis- cussion centred on the perceived decline in the quality of briefs be- ing sent to counsel in recent years and it was pointed out that a solicitor is not doing his job but is merely contributing to delay when he furnishes the easy "herewith copy file — please advise" kind of 'brief'. Peter Shanley spoke of the lack of awareness among some solicitors of where their job ends and that of counsel begins. Cons- tant interruption (by means of notes and gown-tugging) by a solicitor of counsel while the latter is addressing the court was deprecated.

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