The Gazette 1990

GAZETTE

SEPTEMBER 1990

J A M E S J. I VERS Director General of the Law Society 1 9 7 3 - 1 9 9 0 - I N R E T R O S P E CT

in the numbers qualifying per year reaching in excess of 300. After the initial transition period, the Final Examination — First Part (F.E.I.) became the sole criterion for entry to the Law School and that remained the position until 1989. Since 1989, Irish law graduates have been exempt from the F.E.I. — one transitional consequence being that a greater number of students then would be the optimum from the educational standpoint are now attending each Law School course and that between 1990 and 1992, more than 700 new solicitors are likely to qualify. However, from January 1991, with the coming into effect of the EC Directive on the Mutual Recognition of Foreign Diplomas, Irish solicitors, already working as legal executives in London and elsewhere in the U.K. in large numbers will be able to fully and quickly qualify as solicitors in the U.K. and elsewhere in the E.C. During the 1980s Continuing Legal Education (CLE) for qualified solicitors grew as a spin-off from the activities of the Law School. The importance of CLE is now obvious to the entire profession and its effectiveness lies in the whole hearted participation, as consult- ants, of practitioners withexpertise generously imparting that expertise to their colleagues. BLACKHALL PLACE The need to provide adequate accommodation for the Law School ultimately led to the Council having to face the financial reality of the refurbishment of the Blackhall Place premises. In addition to Jim, the names of Peter Prentice and Moya Quinlan will be particularly linked with this courageous init- iative to transform a more than 200 year old historical building into both the best of what it had been and the functional modern headquarters

The last day of October 1990 brings with it the retirement of James J. I vers, universally known as J im, from the office of Director General of the Law Society. J im is the first holder of the office of Director General, which he holds in addition to his statutory post as Secretary.

It is difficult to believe that in the last hundred years the Society has had but three chief executives. There are still many solicitors in practice who qualified during the period that William George Wakely was Secretary, a period which stretched from 1888 to 1942. W. G. Wakely was succeeded by Eric A. Plunkett who served as Secretary from 1943 to 1973. Jim took up his appointment on 1st October 1973, having previously served as Chief Executive Officer of the North Western Health Board, and now retires 17 years later. Those 17 years have been a time of radical change across a wide spectrum and our profession owes a considerable debt of gratitude to Jim for his 'helmsmanship' during all of that time. A solicitor qualifying today would have difficulty in recognising the Society as it was in the early 1970s. The administrative offices, the library and the council chamber were all located in Solicitors' Buildings in the Four Courts; the law school was very much a part- time affair with lectures being held anywhere and everywhere, even under psychadelic lights in ugly club premises; and the Council of the Society, concerned about the cost of its refurbishment, was giving serious consideration to the disposal of the Blackhall Place premises, which had been pur- chased in a run down condition in 1968. Also, accountant certificate control was extremely limited but, as a corollory, the cost of the annual practising certificate, including the Compensation Fund contribution, was much lower than it is today.

EDUCAT I ON Jim's appointment coincided with the emergence of pressures within the membership, notably through the Society of Young Solicitors, for improvement in the training system for intending solicitors. Seen as a priority task, the Education Com- mittee spared no effort to bring about change within the constraints of existing legislation — the Solicitors Acts 1954/60 - still with us, but hopefully soon to be amended. The Committee was fortunate to become aware of the activities of Kevin O'Leary in Canberra, Australia, who was pioneering a unique system of hands-on teaching of trainee lawyers by professional peers. Harry Sexton, Solicitor, then an apprentice, went to Canberra on behalf of the Society to experience the system and to report back. The ultimate result, following a visit of Kevin O'Leary to Dublin, was the adoption of the same approach of using the expertise of our own legal practitioners as the teaching medium. The 1975 Education Regulations were drawn-up and solicitor, Dick Woulfe, and law graduate and teacher, Larry Sweeney, were recruited to head- up the new Law School. Partici- pants in the first course under the new system entered Blackhall Place in 1978. The new system was designed to cater for an optimum number of 75 apprentices each half year, or 150 in a full year. At that time the number qualifying each year under the 'old system' averaged 120. The transition between the 'old system' and the 'new system' continued for some years, resulting during that period

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