The Gazette 1993

GAZETTE

w B R I

APRIL 1993

JlJl' llilf 1 i Jt i

by Dr. Eamonn G. Hall

Temporal, Management Consultants, who has advised clients both in industry and the professions, was quoted as saying that the most unusual organisation he had ever seen was the barristers' set or chambers. He considered that some barristers would be hampered as managers by the same qualities that brought them professional success. "Traditional barristers' skills tend to lead to confrontation and position- taking." Mr. Temporal also said, "Barristers can also be emotionally childlike." He maintained they manifest extremes often being egotistic and also highly insecure. "They tend not to trust anybody and to think that others are earning more money." These comments, of course, apply not only to barristers; many members of other professions would fit the same picture. The word from London is gloomy. The word is that the Bar may haVe to react dramatically if it is to avbid a thin line between prosperity and extinction. Lawbrief would add that in Ireland there is little fear of the Irish Bar becoming extinct. Nevertheless, when England sneezes, Ireland catches a cold. It may be a cliché, but change is in the air and it will affect all of us.

charge any person, upon any contract of sale of lands unless the agreement upon which such action shall be brought, or some memorandum or note thereof, shall be in writing and signed by the party to be charged therewith or some other person thereunto by him lawfully authorised. Effectively, the Supreme Court held that a note or memorandum which contained the expression "subject to contract" was not sufficient for the purpose of section 2 of the Statute of Frauds 1695. "One of the most important judgments of recent times in relation to the sale of land and the law of contract must be the judgment of the Supreme Court in Boyle -v- Lee." The Chief Justice, with whom Hederman J and O' Flaherty J agreed in a concurring judgment, and McCarthy J agreed in part, set out the law which was agreed by the majority of the court. The Chief Justice stated that the requirements of justice were that the law applicable to the formation of contracts for the purchase of land should be as certain as it is possible to make it. He noted that in modern times, probably the most important legal transaction a great number of people make in their lifetimes is the purchase or sale of their home. The avoidance of doubt and, accordingly, the avoidance of litigation concerning such a transaction must be a well worthwhile social objective as far as the law is concerned. The Chief Justice continued: "ITlhe very definite statement that a note or memorandum of a contract made orally is not sufficient to satisfy the Statue of Frauds unless it directly or by very necessary implication recognises, not only the terms to be enforced, but also the existence of a

Barristers: An Endangered Species

Readers must immediately be informed that the phrase

"endangered species" did not originate from Lawbrief, the Editorial Board of the Gazette or the Council of The Law Society. The phrase appeared in a heading in The Independent, (London) on Friday February 26, 1993. UK management consultants, Hodgart Temporal, were quoted as stating that by the end of the decade there may be only enough work to sustain half of the 7,300 barristers now in private practice in the UK. Legal writer, Neasa MacErlean, wrote in The Independent that as in other business sectors, the recession could exert its wasting effect on the Bar. "Nobody knows what is going to happen - certainly not the Government," stated Martin Bowley QC, treasurer of the UK Bar Council. "This affects everything the Bar is doing. It raises the whole Question of accommodation . . . and whether the Bar in the future is going to remain as attractive to law graduates." Some barristers in England considered that the Bar can guarantee its survival only by keeping up with the increasingly Popular alternatives to litigation, such as arbitration and alternative dispute resolution. Some sets of barristers have switched from the traditional emphasis on the individual to a team view. Some describe their head of chambers as

Subject to Contract

One of the most important judgments of recent times in relation to the sale of land and the law of contract must be the judgment of the Supreme Court in Boyle -v- Lee which has just been reported at [1992] 1 Irish Reports, 555. The case involved an interpretation of section 2 of the Statute of Frauds, 1695 which provides, inter alia, that no action shall be brought whereby to

chairman and have appointed barristers to head their civil and criminal departments. D avid Temporal of Hodgart

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