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GAZETTE
N
W
NOVEMBER 1992
President to Meet Taoiseach About Compensation Fund
Report of the October meeting of the Law Society Council
At its meeting on 16 October, the
Council of the Law Society endorsed
a decision by the President of the
Society to seek a meeting with the
Taoiseach,
Albert Reynolds,
about
the introduction of a cap on the
level of any one claim on the
Compensation Fund. It was the
Council's view that the profession
could not continue to operate the
Compensation Fund in an open-
ended manner and that the Fund's
original raison d'etre to compensate
small claimants had been lost sight
of.
The Chairman of the Compensation
Fund Committee reported that the
committee was preparing a report
that would put before the Council
certain options for dealing with
claims against the Fund, including a
strategy for a "doomsday" scenario.
£13,000 mi n imum salary
At the meeting on 16 October, the
Council approved a motion, brought
forward at the behest of the Younger
Members Committee, recommending
that the minimum starting salary for
newly-qualified solicitors should be
£13,000 per annum. The Council
took the view that such a guideline
would be helpful to practitioners
employing newly-qualified solicitors,
and that, regardless of the number
of solicitors qualifying, those who
were successful in finding
employment should be paid a fair
and proper rate.
New Ethical Obligations on Doctors
The Council noted a new statement
in the Medical Council's Ethical
Guide which imposed an obligation
on doctors to provide medico-legal
reports. The new statement made it
clear that doctors were under a
moral and ethical obligation to
provide such reports and that failure
to do so would amount to
professional misconduct. The
Council viewed this as a significant
advance since the Society's Litigation
Committee had been lobbying the
Medical Council on the issue for the
past five years.
The Council of the Law Society
noted that an appeal to the Supreme
Court on the issue of stand-by fees
would be heard shortly. This
followed a recent case in which
stand-by fees had not been allowed
by the Thxing Master, whose views
had been upheld by the High Court.
Committee to examine White Paper
on Marital Breakdown
The Council approved the
establishment of a Family Law
Committee to deal with family law
and legal aid issues. One of the first
tasks of the Committee will be to
examine the proposals in the
Government's recent White Paper on
Marital Breakdown.
Moya Quintan
was appointed Chairman and
Brian
Sheridan
was appointed Vice
Chairman.
Annual Conference 1993
The dates for the Society's Annual
Conference 1993 were fixed for 20-23
May. The venue chosen was the
Connemara Coast Hotel, Furbo, Co.
Galway.
•
The J.P. O'Reilly Memorial Scholarshi p
Founded by Dr. A.J.F. O'Reilly to honour the memo ry of his late father,
the Fund provides a
Scholarship of £10,000
to contribute t owa r ds the
cost of a t t endance at a full-time or part-time MBA course.
The Fund seeks to promote knowledge of commercial law and corporate
finance amo ng young Irish solicitors.
The award - wh i ch may be apportioned amo ng candidates - is by
compe t i t i on, open to all apprentices and solicitors qualified w i t h in the
last ten years w h o satisfy entry requirements (see below) for an approved
MBA course, wh e t h er at home or abroad.
The c ompe t i t i on will have t w o tiers:
(1) An essay of b e t we en 3 , 0 00 and 5 , 0 00 wo r ds in a comme r c i al law
subject chosen by the candidate;
(2) a panel interview wh i ch will assess the backg r ound interests,
mo t i va t i on and potential of selected essayists.
App l i ca t i ons to participate to be made not later t han 8 January, 1993;
and essays should be s ubm i t t ed by the 28 January, 1993. The
successful candidate is expected to c omme n ce the s t udy p r og r amme
in Au t umn, 1993. Telephone or write to Emily Francis or Sharon Hanson,
Law Society, Blackhall Place, Dublin 7. Tel: 710711.
MBA Requirements
These are threefold:
- normally a primary degree, c ommo n ly w i t h first or second class
honours or an approved professional qualification,
- wo rk experience at an acceptable level of responsibility over a period
of three, four or five years depending on the institute and the
candidate's other qualifications.
- a passing grade in the Graduate Ma n a g eme nt Admi s s i on Test
(GMAT). The GMAT is internationally recognised and can be taken
in centres in all countries. I n f o rma t i on is available from:Graduate
Management Admission Test, Educational Testing Service, CN6103
Princeton NJ 0 8 5 41 - 6103, USA.
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