The Gazette 1995

GAZETTE

NOVEMBER 1995

Memories of 50 Years in Practice

such man was Charles Campbell, who was a brilliant KC. He must have been in his middle or late sixties when I began to instruct him. A "gentleman" to the tips of his fingernails, he had an immense practice, but always, when perusing papers and pleadings in particular he would not hesitate to spend time, one might say, a waste of time, but I now say, the mark of perfection; checking, to cross the t's and dot the i's, inserting commas, semis and other punctuation marks. I used to marvel at his tranquillity, the respect he received from all, and his ease and gentility in Court and yet devastatingly precise in his soft voice,

Approaching my 50th year as a solicitor, I would like to refer to a few memorable facts which occurred during my early years in practice, to indicate how styles and approaches in the 4 0 ' s and 5 0 ' s differed from approaches and styles as we approach the 21st century. Shortly after commencing to practice, I was called to the offices o f M/s French and French of 7, St. Stephen's Green, Dublin, where the principal was Captain English, and ex-British Army Officer, and a solicitor. I was very friendly with him and he decided to give me some initial guidance. Accordingly, in his very polished Oxford accent he said - "Stanley, remember when you write letters, when you speak to people, always remember fo be a gentleman, for you have now entered a "genteel" profession". S ome years later, it must have been in the 5 0 ' s, a lady came to see me. After being my client for some time, she commented to me on one occasion, "Mr. Siev one of the most important relationships between a solicitor and a client is the art o f conversation. It is most important that a solicitor should always "converse with a client", never "converse to a client". I have noticed you allow me to talk to you and you talk directly to me, if only all solicitors would do that". As my practice increased in complexity, it became necessary at times to instruct Senior Counsel, the equivalent of KC or QC in England. When the British left Ireland in 1921, i no further KC ' s or QC ' s were j appointed, but there were still some practising barristers in Ireland who | retained their British titles, having ' acquired them in pre-1921 days. One The comment was most interesting.

O'Flynn, of the Dublin District Court. I cannot now recollect what the case was about, but Rory and I went for each other "hammer and tongs". Suddenly, the Justice announced he was going to retire to his Chambers for about ten minutes. He did so and a few minutes later his clerk came over to the table and said "the Justice wishes to see you both in his Chambers". So we went there and in no uncertain terms he told us that solicitors have a duty to contest their client's causes in Court to the best of their " ob j e c t i v e" abilities, but there is no place for "subjective" confrontations in the legal profession. "Now return to Court and conduct your cases as true professional gentlemen". Which we did and fought hard for our respective clients and we remained friends ever since. One final word concerning another Solicitor. His name was Archibald Clarke, who was a very well known Dublin solicitor. He was already a very elderly man when I qualified. He always attended Court in full formal morning dress, even to his shiny tall hat. He had a keen sense of humour and was very popular among his colleagues. On his death, as far as I can recollect in 1947, an era terminated in Irisji legal history. Before it is too late, when many of the stories will be forgotten, if my colleagues would care to send to me any anecdotes, stories, events etc. an attempt could be made to put them in book form and have a book published. Up to the late forties, lawyers had time, the profession was not so materialistic. Pressures were non- existent and practices were conducted very easily, yet seldom delayed.

metaphorically knifing witnesses under his cross-examinations. I was so sad when more than 25 years ago, he suddenly started to age, an old man in his eighties, and he died. Not one case did I lose under his expert advice, which I always accepted and respected. One o f my earliest cases in which I was opposed by another young solicitor called Rory O'Connor, about my age, took place before Justice

Maybe my age group no longer fits in and it is soon time to "pass on".

Stanley Siev

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