The Gazette 1976

J U NE/J U LY

GAZETTE

1976

mission in mind its importance lies in enabling solicitors to extend their activities as the needs of clients require and thus to provide a more comprehensive service. Another feature of the Convention is that it means that solicitors are now fully recognised by the leading Bar of France. Hitherto, one of the tasks which The Society has undertaken even since British membership of the EEC was first mooted, has been to explain to the Continental Lawyer and public the place of the solicitor in the English legal system. Barristers were, at the out- set, better understood as their functions of advice and court appearance made them recognisable to avocats whereas the solicitor with his far wider activities was more difficult to place. In the French system, he was at one time equated with the.avoué (a class now curtailed in France); even when he was recognised as having a separate existence, his status was inferior to that of the Bar. One of the most important changes was represented by the agreement in 1971 that Solicitors and Barristers alike should have the right of audience before the European Court (with certain minor exceptions by agreement with the Bar so far as solicitors were con- cerned). Furthermore, the work of The Society at the Commission Consultative des Barreaux de la Commun- auté Européenne (of which the United Kingdom was an observer member until joining the Communitv and an active participating member thereafter) has done much to inform legal quarters in the EEC and elsewhere of the position of solicitors. Work on the draft Directive on Lawyers has proceeded very largelv on the basis of placing the solicitor in the system and ensuring that the Directive does not adopt a policy which would cut down the services which the solicitor at present is able to give to his clients. Thus, the Convention with the Bar of Paris looks beyond the boundaries of that City and towards the other EEC countries and underlines the fact that in the United Kingdom, it is the Solicitor and the Barrister or avocat who together make up the legal profession, a fact which the Declaration signed at Bath between the English Bar and The Society last November had already made clear in formal terms. The question which was put several times by Paris Avocats after the signing ceremony on 12 April, was what effect in practice the new Convention might have. This remains to be seen, but one thing of which we can be sure is that the opportunity for closer working together now exists and that the way has been pre- pared, for those who wish to follow it, of broadening the service which they give on behalf of their clients. The Convention is thus an important event in the his- tory of the profession. in the Land Registry was agreed. It is important that maps should be signed by the persons preparing them and it is suggested that solicitors should ensure that this is done before the application is lodged It is also most important that original maps should show the location of physical marks'on the ground. If property corners are not marked on the ground the possibility of subsequent conflict of boundaries is greatly increased. Yours sincerely, Nevin Griffith, Registrar. \Editor's Note —While the signing of maps is not a Rule, the Council asks that the request of the Registrar be complied with, if at all possible.]

Paris Convention

(Continued from p. 78)

(4) The terms of the collaboration shall be within the spirit of the law. (5) No c o l l a bo r a t es shall be obliged to share the use of a room except, in the case of an avocat stagiaire, where it is considered to be valuable to the acquisition of professional experience when the period of sharing shall not exceed one year. The following particulars of any contract entered into (whether under A, B or C above) between an avocat and a solicitor shall be lodged with the Ordre des Avocats : (1) The names and addresses of the contracting parties. (2) The nature of the contract (A, B or C above). (3) A specimen of the notepaper to be employed as a consequence of the arrangement. (4) Duration of the contract. (5) In case of an association an explanatory note of the method used for the calculation of profit shares. (6) A copy of the arbitration clause which shall provide for arbitration by the Batonnier and the Presi- dent of The Law Society. Some comments on the Convention between the English Law Society and the Paris Bar The Bilateral Convention between The Society and the Paris Bar signed on 12 April goes far beyond any previous agreement concluded between two Bars. It also goes further than the Draft Directive which the EEC Commission have proposed for Lawyers' Services as defined in the Treaty of Rome since that Directive is only concerned with the occasional crossing of frontiers by a lawyer to serve the interests of a particular client. The Convention signed on 12 April takes a first step towards "establishment" of a member of one of the two professions who has an office in the country of the other : either the avocat with a bureau in England in a solicitor's office or a barrister's chambers or on his own or the solicitor who has an office, either on his own or in the bureau of a Paris avocat. The Convention looks forward to even closer working relationships between respective members although, for these, changes in the Solicitors' Practice Rules and in the Solicitors Act, 1974 will be necessary. The Convention is forward-looking as it seeks to facilitate greater international activity by solicitors and thus is positive in its approach. With the Royal Com-

Correspondence

Land Registry, Central Office, Chancery Street, Dublin 7. 25th May 1976.

James J Ivers, Esq., Director General, The Incorporated Law Society of Ireland, Four Courts, Dublin 7. Dear Mr. Ivers.

At the recent meeting with members of your Council on mapping difficulties the importance of accuracy in the preparation of maps for lodgment with applications 80