The Gazette 1991

GAZETTE

NOVEMBER 1991

Obituary - George G. Overend While he would no doubt have been an excellent accountant, for he possessed remarkable mathe- matical skills, George Overend probably never contemplated any career other than the law. His grandfather was a judge, as was his uncle Kingsbury, and his father was a distinguished solicitor and former president of the Law Society - but the real determinant in his choice of profession was his certainty that he would enjoy the practice of law. He savoured it because it afforded him the opportunity of bringing all his talents into play and gave him the infinite variety of challenge which he so loved. Highly articu- late, he had an astonishing memory which was steeped in knowledge of the law. All this, allied to a natural pragmatism, made him a very desirable man to have on one's side in any encounter.

Practice Notes

thought might lead to greater eff- iciency and he always closely concerned himself with young solicitors and had no peer in their instruction and training. Part of the essence of a man is lost if there is no mention of imperfection: he becomes too good to be true. It is correct that from time to time GGO, as he was popularly known, appeared to be abrupt, impatient and even a trifle irascible. This is understandable when one remembers how often he worked into the small hours of the morning on complex matters. On a cold appraisal, however, there was no defect of any significance to be found in his character or bearing. This superbly talented man was free from rhetoric, from bombast and from false pride. For all of us who respected and admired him his monument is the standard of excellence, of integrity and of dedication which he set. Our deepest sympathy goes out in particular to those most closely affected by his death, his loving and devoted wife Muriel and his daughters Janet, Lorna and Cherrie. 'A Lawyer' (Reprinted by kind permission of 'The Irish Times') 1991 (Commencement) Order, 1991, (S.I. No. 249 of 1991) brings the main provisions of the Competition Act, 1991 into effect from October 1, 1991. The order establishes the Competition Authority from that date and also retains the Restrictive Practices (Groceries) Order, 1987. The Competition (Notification Fee) Regulations 1991, (S.I. No. 250 of 1991) prescribe the appropriate fee to be sent with any agreement, decision or concerted practice wh i ch is notified under the Competition Act, 1991. That fee is £100.00. Competition Act, 1991 The Competition Act

VHI - Form of Undertaking Members are advised that follow- ing discussions with the VHI, the Society has agreed to recommend to its members a form of under- taking to be furnished to the VHI where the VHI has agreed to discharge hospital and medical expenses for the client to the extent of his cover limits. The recommended fee payable to the solicitor in respect of such under- taking is £60 plus VAT. The form of authority to be completed by the member and the form of undertaking to be completed by the solicitor are set out hereunder. Authority In consideration of the VHI dis- charging my hospital and medical expenses to the extent of my cover limits, I undertake to the VHI to include these expenses as part of my claim against a third party(ies). I hereby irrevocably authorise the solicitor(s) repre- senting me in making a claim to furnish to the VHI an undertaking in the following form:- In consideration of the VHI discharging the hospital and medical expenses of my/our client (name), l/we hereby undertake to include as part of my/our client's (name) claim the monies so paid by the VHI (details of wh i ch are now supplied to us by the VHI) and subject to any order to the contrary, to repay to the VHI out of the proceeds that come into our hands the net amount recovered in respect of such payments made by the VHI. Signed:

His ability to quickly tease out what was important in, say, a Finance Act, and where it differed from pre- ceding Finance Acts, was out- standing. It all seemed so effortless it was all the more impressive. Where a consultation was held to solve some difficult problem he could light up the whole meeting by supplying the solution which had evaded everybody else. After one such occasion the client spoke of him as "a lad with a good head" - a truly Irish accolade, indicating not just intelligence, but also wisdom, perception and what is popularly known as "cop", a highly desirable quality in a lawyer. He was the quintessential busi- nessman's lawyer w i th his profound knowledge of company law, his ability to read and accu- rately interpret a balance-sheet, his innate common sense and the courage to take a stand on any matter of importance. These qualities made him a very valuable board member on a number of well known public companies and he was also a past president of the Law Society and a former governor of the Irish Times Trust. As an innovator in a solicitors' practice he introduced anything which he

Injured Member

Litigation

Committee 367