The Gazette 1987

MAY 1987

of the profession generally. On this issue, it was agreed on all sides that the level of co-operation bet- ween the representative bodies, namely the Bar Council and the Council of the Incorporated Law Society, had been far from good in the past. Peter Shanley, who is a member of the Bar Council, gave a powerful exposition of the dangers faced by both branches of the pro- fession if there is a failure to com- municate jointly and convincingly the merits of our respective posi- tions (in the interests of both the public and ourselves) to the Restrictive Practices Commission which is currently investigating the legal profession. Michael Houlihan also expressed regret at the misunderstandings and lack of co-operation which had too often in the past characterised relations between the Bar Council and the Council of the Incorporated Law Society and, in a view echoed by three other former Presidents of the Law Society who were present and spoke, welcomed the con- ference as a stepping stone to much better relations. One area of vital mutual interest in which a joint approach would be par- ticularly we l come is public relations. This particular session of the conference had been due to end so that people could go for lunch at 1 o'clock. Such was the level of im- portance which all present attach- ed to the debate, however, that absolutely no one left the room un- til a halt was finally called by the chairman at 1.35! What had taken place was generally agreed to have been an extraordinarily stimulating and long overdue discussion of matters of vital interest to the profession as a whole. Soc i al Events Attention switched afterwards to the more relaxing social aspects of the weekend activities. As the tennis tournament had to be cancelled because of the inclement weather, the TV set in the bar became the focus of attention as all were united in their support for an event almost as unique as the conference — the Irish rugby team beating Wales in Cardiff. The sight of what was on display in the hotel swimming pool (the

so-called 'corpus of the law-yer!') it was remarked, constituted a powerful case for the retention of the wig and gown by barristers at all times and perhaps even their compulsory extension to solicitors!!

/ x In Brief V J Legal Serv i ces Two firms have recently extended the range of services available to Solicitors. Legal Services and Employment Limited are an em- ployment agency catering for qualified staff. Business Com- parison Analysts Limited provide a compu t e r i sed service wh i ch summarises the management data of a practice and compares such results with those of similar size firms in the scheme, furnishing the results to the client company. Both of these firms also provide an introductory service to those interested in buying, selling or merging practices.

The Final Day On the Sunday morning, we were treated to a brilliantly enter- taining series of reminiscences of days gone by in the legal pro- fession in Ireland by Mr. Justice Niall McCarthy of the Supreme Court under the title "The Way we We r e ". This a t t r ac t ed a very full audience particularly in view of what for some was the excessive enoyment of the dinner dance on the previous evening where the dance floor was still full at 3.30a.m., and the bar did not close until much much later. When it was all over there was a general feeling that the conference represented a break- through in relations between the two branches of the profession, that the mutual suspicion and coolness of the past must now be buried, that the younger members of both branches had given a lead where their elders had failed and above all else a belief that this initiative must be built on with further conferences and other joint activity in the future. Was it legitimate for the fear to exist in some quarters that the mere fact that a conference such as this was held at all represented the thin end of the wedge for the ultimate fusion of both branches of the profession? n o t " , responded Chairman of the Bar Council, Seamus McKenna, S.C. He allowed his eyes to linger a while on the dance floor, where scores of barristers and solicitors were giving practical expression to the spirit of the conference (while Gerard O'Keeffe on the stage attempted to reincarnate Elvis Presley), before adding, "except perhaps in the purely physical sense!" • " Fus i on? Certainly

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