The Gazette 1991

GAZETTE

JU LY/AUGUST

1991

Address by President of the Law Society, Donal G. Binchy to Society's Annual Conference, Killarney, 4th May 1991.

By a special correspondent fund. This view was being pressed very strongly at Government level and he appealed again to the Minister to look favourably at the Society's submissions. TECHNOLOGY The President asserted that, contrary to the historic Dickensian image, solicitors have been to the forefront in availing of modern technology and were well ahead in this important area of development. EDUCATION The Society's Law School was, according to the President, amongst the most modern in the world and its graduates were infinitely better qualified than their predecessors. Graduates of the Law School could stand com- parison with the best graduates of education and training of any other jurisdictions. Continuing Legal Education (C.L.E.) had been gradually gaining in importance over the past twenty years. The President paid a special tribute to the Society's Law School, to the Society of Young Solicitors for their important contribution and especially to the members of the profession who give of their time so freely in this area. The President referred to the recent Fair Trade Commission Report which urged that there should be a common professional law school. He took issue with the report asserting that its authors did not fully understand the requirements of legal education. There was, he said, already a common law school at the academic level. He said that there were at least five Universities CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION JOINT PROFESSIONAL LEGAL EDUCATION

In a wide ranging and, at times, hard-hitting address to the Law Society's Annual Conference on Saturday 4th May 1991 at the Great Southern Hotel, Killarney, the President of the Law Society, Mr. Donal G. Binchy, hit back at the critics of the profession and asserted that the profession pro- vided the public with an efficient and cost effective service. Review- ing the performance and achieve- ments of the profession over his practising lifetime, Mr. Binchy covered all the current issues of interest to the profession. ADMISSION POLICY The President refuted the sug- gestion t hat the profession maintained a closed shop. " It never was and still is not necessary for a person to have a University Degree in Law or any other discipline or even a Leaving Certificate to be- come a Solicitor" he declared. Since 1989, anyone w i th a University Degree in Law, which included the necessary core sub- jects, was exempt from the Society's entrance examination and at present a profession of some 3,800 practitioners were sustaining an apprentice population of over 900, almost one in four. The pro- fession had doubled its member- ship in the ten years to 1987 and would double its numbers again in the next ten years or so. COMPENSATION FUND The President defended what he called the proud record of refunding in full losses sustained by clients as a result of misappropriation or em- bezzlement by solicitors. He spoke of the dangers for the future and the need for legislative change to bring the fund back to its original concept. There was no reason, he said, why financial institutions, who can look after themselves very well, should have access to the

providing legal education at that level and that rationalisation in this area was a matter for the Govern- ment. The Society and the Bar Council had no objection to common vocational training to the extent that this was appropriate with the proviso that it did not dilute the standards of training and education given by the Society's Law School. But Mr. Binchy went on to say that, in his view, the requirements for solicitors and barristers differed significantly. Although he had an open mind on the question of establishing a Joint Professional Law School, these important considerations had to be borne in mind. TRANSITION ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN SOLICITORS AND BARRISTERS In an important reference to this subject, Mr. Binchy emphasised that the Bar and the Law Society appeared to be at one on the need for maximum ease of transition from one branch of the Profession to the other in common with the trend towards freedom of move- ment throughout Europe. EUROPEAN COMMUNITY The profession was fully up-to-date in relation to the implementation of the Commun i ty Directive on recognition of Diplomas, said Mr. Binchy. He also said that, inde- pendently of the Community Directive, recognition had been obtained, through the Society's efforts, for Irish solicitors to practice in England. This was, he said, a striking achievement, of very considerable benefit to some hundreds of Irish solicitors now earning their living in England. CONVEYANCING AND PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS The President said that the Society had been to the forefront in urging

204