The Gazette 1996

GAZEITE

APRIL /MAY 1996

IIMore Integration of Lawyers Required in Worlds of Business and Management ll - Sutherland

profoundly affected aspects in the way in which business was conducted in Ireland. The seminar, which was attended by close to 100 business leaders, was organised by the Law Society to highlight the courses in many areas of management, including financial, human resource, quality and strategic management, which have now been introduced as part of the training of solicitors. To assist in promoting this the President of the Law Society, Andrew F. Smyth, announced a competition for 'In-house Solicitor of the Year', the rules for which the Society will publicise shortly. 0 N.OTICE Lady Solicitors Golf Outing Woodenhridge, 22 March 1996 Joint Outing with Northern Ireland Lady Solicitors

The speakers at the recent NLaw in the Marketplace H seminar were Peter Sutherland, Chairman, Goldman Sachs (left), John Dunne, Director General, IBEC (second right) and The Hon. Mr. Justice Dec/an Costello (right), pictured with the President of the Law Society, Andrew F. Smyth.

The Director General of IBEC, John Dunne, addressing the same seminar, said that in his view "lawyers have a great deal to offer the world of business in technical areas such as the interpretation and drafting of legal documents, in negotiation and communication which, subject to fine– tuning and exposure to the business environment, will be much in demand". He pointed to clear trends in many countries towards increasing integration of legal and broader business functions. Mr Dunne pointed out that the board of directors of IBEC itself contained both a solicitor and a barrister who had risen through the management structure and he believed an opportunity now exists for the legal profession to move away from the 'professional' practice of law to a broader management role in commercial, industrial and service activities. The President of the High Court, Mr Justice Dec/an Costello, gave a thought– provoking address on how the interpretation by the courts of two specific pieces of legislation, namely the Companies (Amendment) Act 1990 and the Competition Act 1991, had

"Ireland is an incredibly conservative society in terms of its definition of roles including the very restricted role to which lawyers have been confined in the worlds of business and management". So said the former EU Competition Policy Commissioner and Director General of the GAIT, Peter Sutherland, who is now Chairman of the finance house, Goldman Sachs, speaking in Dublin on 17,April 1996 at a Law Society seminar entitled 'Law in the Marketplace' . Lawyers are equipped to recognise, articulate and explain", he continued. "Their education and skills qualify them to be major participants in the business world and in management in Ireland as they are in other developed economies". "Why are there so few lawyers on the boards of major corporations in Ireland?", he asked. "The attitudes both of lawyers and of business must change to achieve this", he concluded. Law should be correctly viewed not as an esoteric subject for moments of crisis but as a relevant part of the day-to-day business of organising a company's affairs.

Sponsor: Bank of Ireland

1st

37 points 36 points 34 points

Pauline Burke

2nd Emer Foley 3rd Mary Ward Best 36th Handicapper: Helen Murphy Over 50 mile Prize: Aedeen Bradley

30 points

34 points

A match was also played at St. Margaret's on Saturday, 23 March 1996. The teams were: Republic of Ireland Solicitors: Emer Foley, Mary Kelly, Diana Jamieson and Caroline Crowley. Northern Ireland SoUcitors: Oonagh McClure, Aedeen Bradley, ~ Rosemary Todd and Kerry Canovan.

The Annual Outing will take place on 13 September 1996 at Woodenbridge.

Ito