The Gazette 1995

GAZETTE

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JULY 1995

'No Solicitors Need Apply' - An Unacceptable Relic of History

The Law Society received substantial media coverage recently for two direct challenges to the unjustified exclusion of solicitors from appointment to certain posts reserved solely for barristers.

of the High Court and Supreme Court is a relic o f history which operates against the public interest".

experience in legal matters such as drafting complex documents and advising clients, many solicitors run

Solicitor Judges

On 2 0 June, 1995, the Minister for Justice announced a series of amendments to the Courts and Court Officers Bill 1994 which are so extensive as to transform it to a large extent into a new Bill. The new text has yet to be published. However, the Minister's press release was explicit in relation to many of the B i l l 's contents. The press release recorded, among many other things, that the Bill would continue to propose lifting the prohibition on appointment of solicitors as judges of the Circuit Court. However, the exclusion of solicitors from eligibility for appointment as judges of the High Court and Supreme Court would be unchanged. Within two hours the Society reacted with its own press release expressing disappointment that the Minister proposed to continue the unjustifiable exclusion of solicitors from eligibility for appointment as judges of the High Court and Supreme Court. This was reported the next day in The Irish Times and the Irish Independent. The S o c i e t y 's Director General, Ken Murphy, gave a television interview to reporter Kieron Wood which appeared on the R T E 9 o ' c l o ck News on 2 0 June, 1995, in the course of which Mr. Murphy said "while the proposal to allow solicitors to be appointed as judges in the Circuit Court is to be welcomed, it should be followed through to its logical conclusion. Solicitors represent 8 0 % of the legal profession and their continued exclusion from appointment as judges

KEN MURPHY Director General, law Society

RTE 9 o'clock

News,

20 June,

1995

Attorney General's Office

substantial offices with large turnovers and staff numbers and have extensive experience in management and administration. The difficulties experienced in the Attorney General's Office previously might not have occurred if an experienced solicitor/manager had been running that office. The Society will continue to press for equal treatment for solicitors and barristers for recruitment to all posts in the Attorney General's O f f i c e ", he said. The President's remarks were fully reported in The Irish Times and The Sunday Business Post. •

On Friday, 23 June, 1995, national newspapers carried an advertisement for the position of Senior Legal Assistant at the Attorney General's Office, the post which had recently become vacant with the retirement of Mr. Matt Russell. The j ob carries a salary of £75,047.00. The advertisement explicitly stated that the appointment was open to barristers only. At a parchment conferring ceremony that afternoon the President of the Law Society, Patrick Glynn, expressed fury at the exclusion of solicitors from consideration for the position. He argued strongly that the experience of solicitors during their professional careers rendered them suitable for all positions in the Attorney General's Office.

LAW BOOKS FOR SALE A Colleague retiring from Practice has an extensive collection of Law Books for Sale. Further information contact John J. Reedy & Co., Solicitors, Emmet Street, Birr, Co. Offaly Telephone 0509 - 20774.

He continued, "in addition to

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