The Gazette 1996

GAZETTE

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1996

N E W S

Careers á La Carte

On Thursday evening thefirst of August, six young solicitors, all qualified within the past four years and all working in different career areas, came back to Blackhall Place to address an assembly of apprentices and recently-qualified solicitors. The objective was to provide those who are entering the jobs market with someflavourof the variety of em- ployment available to solicitors and to give these 1996'ers food for thought and, hopefully, for action about their own careers. Thefirst contribution came from David O'Donnell, Legal Counsel with Management International (Dublin) Limited, an IFSC company which is a subsidiary of Bank of Bermuda and service provider to the mutual funds industry. David gave a user-friendly run- down of the funds industry, describing his role as a lawyer in the teamwhich manages "collective investment vehicles". He also outlined the broader IFSC picture where some 400 companies engage in a range of activities including treasury, insurance, banking and leasing. On the subject of employment prospects in the industry, David was very positive indeed, seeing both legal and management opportunities for solicitors in this young and burgeoning sector. Ann Kelly qualified in 1994 and worked with A&LGoodbody until she became Legal Adviser to the Irish Travel Agents' Association last year. She had a particular interest in European affairs and languages, reflected in her degree (BA in European Studies) and European Law Diploma. Ann's job with ITAA comprises a range of functions from representing the interests of the travel industry by lobbying European parliamentarians in Brussels to acting as company secretary and in-house legal adviser as well as giving direct advice and information to members of the association. This latter role involves presenting legislation in a clear and digestible form to travel agents and front line counterstaff in the industry. Ann described her job as extremely varied and enjoyable: there is also a constant

L-r: Colm Quinn, Centre Reinsurance International Limited; Ann Kelly, Irish Travel Agents Association; Ceraldine Hynes, Careers Advisor, Law Society and Graham Hanlon, Doyle Hanlon, Solicitors.

challenge involved in working in an industry which is becoming more and more regulated while serving an increas- ingly aware and demanding consumer base. As a consequence of this trend, tour operators are increasingly recruiting j solicitors for their customer services divisions. Likewise, other trade associ- ations outside the travel industry employ lawyers for both legal and non-legal work. ColmQuinn was admitted to the roll of solicitors in 1993, having collected an MBS en route. In 1995, he joined Centre Reinsurance International Limited, an j IFSC company, where he is employed as an underwriter. The company had specifically targeted legally trained professionals when recruiting for this position, reflecting the significance of the legal dimension of the job. Colm's particular brief involves quantifying the effects of legislative developments on the assessment of insurancerisks but also includes dealing with contracts and monitoring Regulations. He sees solicitors as competing with accountants for jobs in thefinancialservices sectpr in general, but in his view, there is no reason why the legal profession should not be more widely represented there. When Maria Costellofinishedher apprenticeship in 1995, she was certain of one thing: that the life of a solicitor in

private practice was not for her. So, with a B.Comm, LLB background and "absolutely no p.q.e", this Limerick lady set out tofind a job to suit her. It turned up in the form of an offer from Irish Shell to join their legal and public affairs department. The legal content of the job is concerned with such matters as licence and agency agreements, site acquisitions and the business of sales and distribution. Public affairs for the company can range from environmental issues in South America to political concerns in Africa and managing them can involve attending conferences in London orfielding the media at home. Maria clearly enjoys the variety and challenge of the job and sees potential for solicitors in similar organisations to move internally into areas such as management or marketing, should they so wish. Herfinal advice to others in her position was not to become too obsessed with gaining the magic post- qualification experience and not to worry if therightjob does not come along straight away. Philippa Howley also offered reassurance to newly-qualified solicitors who might despair that they have no "big commercial experience" on their CV. Her own apprenticeship with a medium-sized firm gave her a good grounding in general legal practice and on this basis she secured herfirst and current job with AIB

240