The Gazette 1990

JULY/AUGUST 1990

GAZETTE

Law Society Minutes of the Half-Yearly Meeting held at the Hotel Europe, Killarney, Co. Kerry on Friday, 4th May 1990. 1. ADDRESS AND WELCOME BY KERRY LAW SOCIETY his thanks to the Council of the Society. He put on record his own app r ec i a t i on of the wo rk service which would support the administration of justice and not impede it, which was the case at present.

Addressing the meeting on behalf of the Kerry Law Society, Ms. Mary O'Halloran, Secretary, welcomed the members of the profession attending the Conference to Kerry. Ms. O'Halloran extended a special word of welcome for the Society's official guests and delegates who had travelled from abroad to attend. She also expressed her thanks to the Bank of Ireland in Killarney who had supported the Conference and the activities of the Kerry Law Society. 2. NOTICE CONVENING THE MEETING The Director General read the Notice convening the meeting which had been circulated to the profession prior to the meeting. 3. MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING HELD IN BLACKHALL PLACE, DUBLIN 7, ON 15TH NOVEMBER 1989. The minutes of the Annual General meeting which had been published in the March 1990 issue of the Gazette were signed by the President, Ernest J. Margetson. 4. APPOINTMENT OF SCRUTINEERS OF BALLOT FOR COUNCIL ELECTION 1990/91 The meeting approved of the appointment of the following to act as Scrutineers for the Council Election 1990/91: Walter Beatty John Maher Laurence F. Branigan Donal O'Hagan Terence Dixon Hugh O'Neill Andrew Donnelly Peter Prentice Eamonn Hall John C. Reidy Clare Leonard William Young The President availed of the opportunity to pay tribute to Roderick Tierney who had been assoc i a t ed w i t h t he Council Election for over 50 years as a Scrutineer and who was now retiring. On behalf of the profession he thanked Mr. Tierney for his enormous contribution to the profession over the years. The President t hen presented Mr. Tierney with a tie pin to mark his r e t i r emen t. In ac cep t i ng the presentation Mr. Tierney expressed

undertaken by the Council on behalf of the profession. Mr. Tierney indicated that in matters relating to the Council Election he had reservations as to the efficacy of some of the changes which had been made in recent years. If the Council decided at some date in the future to reveiw the manner in which the Election is conducted he asked t hat it d r aw on t he experience of the Scrutineers in undertaking its review. In his address to the delegates, the President referred to the changing nature of the profession. Already such topics as multidisciplinary partnership and limited liability for solicitors firms were being con- sidered. At the moment the profession was awaiting the report from the Fair Trade Commission on the legal profession. The President said he would like to "assure the profession that the Society will use its utmost endeavour to maintain the status quo and in fact seek improvements as long as what is being done is for the benefit of the public". The President welcomed the recent appointment of a Registrar to the Land Registry. Referring to the deficiencies in the service provided by the Land Registry the President described the delays and arrears as "scandalous" and said it was an area " i n which as a profession we must continue to keep pressure on the Government to provide a reasonable service for relatively simple matters which affect so many members of the population, namely the transfer of property". The President said that the work of the Courts was also subjected to delays because of staff shortages. At the same time, he ac cep t ed t hat the s t a ff operating the Court Offices and the Land Registry work hard to provide the best service they can with the limited resources at their disposal. The President called on the Government to provide a proper 5. ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, ERNEST J. MARGETSON

The President urged the pro- fession to support the Solicitors Financial and Property Services Company. Members of the pro- fession should be conscious of the fact that solicitors, especially family solicitors, are generally fully au fait with the financial situation of their clients and thus are in the best position to advise. Members of the profession should avail of the services of the Solicitors Financial and Property Service which puts the requisite financial expertise at the immediate disposal of the solicitor advising a client. The President stressed the need for all members to carry Indemnity Insurance. The Society now had its own company the Solicitors Mutual Defence Fund. The Fund was in a position to offer cover to members at the same premium as in the initial year of operation and with increased limit of cover. Concluding his address, the President said that 1992 presented the profession with a challenge. The profession had to " be prepared to face that challenge and to go forward in an efficient and com- petitive approach but at the same time always remembering the high standards of the profession to which we can all be proud to be members". The Director General informed the meeting that the Fund which had been established in 1975 now had a current Value of £14.2m. This figure represented an 18.6% increase on last year. The Unit value of the Fund s t ood at 273.432. While the investment performance for 1989 was satis- factory wi th Irish Equities doing particularly well predictions were that 1990 would be a difficult year. Increases in membership were at a satisfactory level. Benefits such as an income continuance plan and life assurance cover together with tax savings made up some of the bene f i ts wh i ch membe r sh ip conferred on members. 6. REPORT ON THE RETIREMENT FUND

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