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GAZETTE
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1992
New Council Members
Maeve Hayes, Brian Sheridan and John Shaw, newly-elected
members
of the Council of the Law
Society, introduce
themselves
and outline their
priorities.
Maeve Hayes
I am a Partner in the firm of Mason
Hayes & Curran. Over the period of
eighteen years, when our Managing
Partner,
Maurice Curran,
was a
member of the Council of the Law
Society, I became conscious of the
enormous amount of work that is
done by the members of the
Council for the benefit of the
profession as a whole throughout
the country. Then, when I myself
became a member of the Con-
veyancing Committee many years
ago, I found the monthly contact
w i th the other members of the
Committee very interesting and
enlightening. I also found that one
developed contacts w i th a wide
range of solicitors around the
country, who have conveyancing
queries from time to time and
wh om the members of the Com-
mittee try to assist at all times but,
in particular, at the mon t h ly
meeting. Coming up to the election
in 1991 it was suggested to me
that I should run for election to the
Council which, having given it very
brief consideration, I did and having
been successfully elected (at least
this year), I am looking forward to
serving on the Council. Obviously
at this stage it is a learning process
and I anticipate that it will be some
time before I will be in a position to
be productive on the various
Committees to which I have been
appointed.
Brian
Sheridan
It is particularly significant that the
members of the Society have
elected a Legal Aid solicitor to the
Council and I hope in the coming
year to promote interest in, and
debate on, the development of a
comprehensive scheme of civil
legal aid.
Having been in private practice
prior to joining the Legal Aid Board,
I am aware of the problems of the
profession but I hope also to act in
some way as a voice for the many
members of the Society who are
practising in areas other than the
private sector.
I feel that the solicitor makes a
valuable contribution to the fabric
of society and ours is in many
fundamental respects a "caring
profession". This unfortunately is
not reflected in the public image of
the solicitor and is an omission
which we must actually strive to
redress.
As a solicitor of some years ex-
perience, as an Executive member
of the European Movement and as
a long standing consultant at the
Society's Law School, I hope that
I can make a positive practical
contribution to the diverse work of
the Council and I am grateful to
those who supported my election.
John Shaw
As a recently qualified solicitor, I
would hope that my election will
improve the lines of communication
between the younger members of
the profession and the Council and
will also encourage the younger
members to take a more active
interest in the business of the
Council and the Society generally.
In terms of matters which need
attention, apart from the obvious
ramifications of the Solicitors Bill,
the public image of the solicitor
could do w i th a radical overhaul.
Each solicitor obviously has his or
her own part to play, but it is
impo r t ant t hat t he ex t r eme ly
valuable service that the solicitor
provides to the general public be
properly presented. Finally, coming
from a family tradition of serving on
the Council, it is a matter of
considerable honour for me to have
been elected by my colleagues and
I take this opportunity of thanking
you for your support.
•
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