The Gazette 1989

GAZETTE

NOVEMBER 1989

Younger Members News The Lisbon Link The Portuguese Young Lawyers Association held its Tenth Anni- versary Conference in Lisbon from 3rd November to 5th November 1989. A group from the Younger Members Committee of the Law Society consisting of Miriam Reynolds - Chairman, Justin McKenna, Eva Tobin, Patricia Boyd and Sandra Fisher flew out from a cold and windy Dublin to attend the Conference. Warm weather and a warm we l c ome greeted the Irish The grand finale of the confer- ence was the "Tagus Fluvial Tour" on Sunday. A cruise with wonderful views over the wide river of Lisbon, its seven hills, its red tiled rooves, riverside monuments, and passing the earthquake-proof suspension bridge.

LAW SOCIET Y ANNUAL CONFERENC 1990 Thursday, 3rd May to Sunday, 6th May 1990

Two important points were gleaned from the conference. Firstly, the need for language training for Irish Lawyers. The multi-lingual European delegates put us to shame but it must be pointed out that none of them could f o l l ow our t oas ts " as Gaeilge"! The second surprising factor was that when one of our •delegates injured herself after falling on a wet and slippery floor, where the proposed Defendant would have had no answer on liability, none of the Portuguese Lawyers jumped forward to offer his or her services. Needless to say, all our Irish colleagues would have been willing to act were it not for the language barrier.

delegates. The programme was short but lively, opening on the Friday night with an address from Francisco Pimentel, the Chairman of the Portuguese Association. This was followed by an elegant recept- ion at Lisbon's magnificent City Hall hosted by the Mayor. The theme of the Saturday mo r n i ng session was Young Lawyers Associations and the Con- ference was addressed by the President of A.I.J.A., Hugo Pinheiro Torres and papers were also read by a French Lawyer and a Portuguese Lawyer. We contributed by giving a short account of how the Young Members Committee functions in Ireland and it emerged that our Committee was unique amongst Young Lawyers Associations in Europe in that it is not independent from the Law Society. The after- noon session dealt with legal ethics and papers were delivered by Karen MacKenzie of England, Paolo Panella from Naples and Rodolfo Manuel Lavrador from Lisbon. Many of the ethical problems discussed were common to all the jurisdictions represented but we were surprised to discover that the Portuguese Law Society has no equivalent to our Compensation Fund nor does it have a method whereby a Portuguese Lawyer can be struck off the Rolls. The closing dinner took place on the Saturday night in a former palace, the present headquarters of the Portuguese Red Cross. The delegates were treated to some impromptu Irish music and song!

HOTEL EUROPE KILLARNEY CO. KERRY

(Left to right): Eva Tobin, Patricia Boyd, Marian Bultarman, Sandra Fisher, Justin McKenna, Isabel Magalahas Olavo, Niall Fogarty and Mi r i am Reynolds.