The Gazette 1990

s E pte MBER 1990

GAZETTE

From the President . . .

PRESIDENT 1990/1991 Donal G. Binchy Mr. Donal (Don) Binchy has been elected President of The Law Society. He was educated at C.B.S. High School, Clonmel, and Clongowes Wood College. He qualified and was admitted as a Solicitor in 1951 having been awarded a Silver Medal in his final examination. He is Senior Partner in the firm of O'Brien & Binchy, Clonmel, and a Past-President of the County Tipperary Bar Association. He was elected to the Council in 1975 and has served as Chair- man of the Parliamentary Com- mittee, Taxation Committee and Education Committee. Mr. Binchy and his wife Joan have four children, Frederic and Donald who are Partners in O'Brien & Binchy, Mary Rose O'Donnell who is also a qualified Solicitor and Grace. will open the way for all our solicitors in England to become enrolled as solicitors there and should also open opportunities for members of the profession throughout the Community. We cannot exclude the possibility of reverse traffic but I think we have much more to gain than to lose from this Directive. I join with my predecessors in appealing for support for the Solicitors' Mutual Defence Fund and the Solicitors's Financial Services Company. It is important for all of us that we support these projects which are our own and exist for our own benefit. The importance of professional indemnity protection both for solicitor and client is self evident and I have no doubt that the long term advantages lie in supporting our own fund. The Solicitors' Financial Services Company is a new project to help our profession compete in the area of financial services and to avoid the loss of this business to other professions and financial institutions. As a profession, I believe that we give a good service to the public. We have in the past and will in the future demonstrate our determin-

the members who sent in their own observations and whose views, I think, are reflected in the response. As a profession I do not think we have anything to fear from this report or any actions that may follow from it. The Solicitor's Bill may prove to be a different matter if, as ex- pected, it is introduced during the coming year. The Society has made some submissions on statutory changes that it would like to see in regard to compulsory indemnity cover, the protection of our com- pensation fund and also in relation to the present statutory require- ments for the length of apprentice- ship and the Irish language. Once published the Bill will have to be urgently examined in detail by all Bar Associations and members with a view to making prompt sub- missions thereon. Still glancing backwards, there has been a very welcome break- through with the Land Registry and Registry of Deeds with the appoint- ment of the new Registrar of Titles, Ms. Catherine Treacy, and the announcement that the Registries are to be converted into a semi- state body. We think there has already been a marked improve- ment in the Land Registry since the Registrar's appointment (the post having been vacant for much too long) and we hope that this trend will continue until there is a full satisfactory service from both Registries. This is obviously a matter that will be kept under con- tinuing review. Looking forward - perhaps one of the major events of the coming year is the bi-centenary of the establishment of the Law Club of Ireland in 1791. The Younger Members Committee has already expressed a wish to mark this with an appropriate celebration - I fully support this wish. The date, venue and format for this celebration have yet to be decided but it will befit a bi-centenary and we will keep the members fully informed. The 4th January 1991 will also be a significant date because it is on this date that the E.C. Directive on reciprocity and recognition of qualification of E.C. practising lawyers must be implemented. This

This is written before my election as President. While this may be tempting fate or presumptuous, editorial deadlines leave no choice. Having observed at close quarters the extraordinary input, dedication and ability of my pre- decessors, I approach the year ahead with considerable appre- hension. Nevertheless, I also approach the Office with hope and determination to serve the Society as best I can and to uphold the good name and high standards of our profession. Looking back on the past year, I would first like to pay tribute to my predecessor, Ernest Margetson, who devoted himself unsparingly to all the problems that arose and in his media appearances was a very able proponent of the Society's views. He predicted that we would receive the report of the Fair Trade Commission and also that the Solicitors' Bill might be introduced during the year. He was right about the former but the latter has yet to come. Notwithstanding the extra- ordinary length of the Fair Trade Commission Report - 334 pages - the Society conferred with the profession, and have responded promptly with its own submission (a copy of which is enclosed with this Gazette). In this regard I would like to thank Moya Quinlan and the specially appointed Committee which she chaired, for the long hours of work they spent in studying the report and preparing the Society's submission. I wish to thank the Bar Associations and all

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