The Gazette 1990

GAZETTE

pte

MBER 1990

From the President . . .

This is written before my election

as President. While this may be

tempting fate or presumptuous,

editorial deadlines leave no choice.

Having observed at close

quarters the extraordinary input,

dedication and ability of my pre-

decessors, I approach the year

ahead with considerable appre-

hension. Nevertheless, I also

approach the Office with hope and

determination to serve the Society

as best I can and to uphold the

good name and high standards of

our profession.

Looking back on the past year, I

would first like to pay tribute to my

predecessor, Ernest Margetson,

who devoted himself unsparingly to

all the problems that arose and in

his media appearances was a very

able proponent of the Society's

views. He predicted that we would

receive the report of the Fair Trade

Commission and also that the

Solicitors' Bill might be introduced

during the year. He was right about

the former but the latter has yet to

come.

Notwithstanding the extra-

ordinary length of the Fair Trade

Commission Report - 334 pages

- the Society conferred with the

profession, and have responded

promptly with its own submission

(a copy of which is enclosed with

this

Gazette).

In this regard I would

like to thank Moya Quinlan and the

specially appointed Committee

which she chaired, for the long

hours of work they spent in

studying the report and preparing

the Society's submission. I wish to

thank the Bar Associations and all

the members who sent in their own

observations and whose views, I

think, are reflected in the response.

As a profession I do not think we

have anything to fear from this

report or any actions that may

follow from it.

The Solicitor's Bill may prove to

be a different matter if, as ex-

pected, it is introduced during the

coming year. The Society has made

some submissions on statutory

changes that it would like to see in

regard to compulsory indemnity

cover, the protection of our com-

pensation fund and also in relation

to the present statutory require-

ments for the length of apprentice-

ship and the Irish language. Once

published the Bill will have to be

urgently examined in detail by all

Bar Associations and members

with a view to making prompt sub-

missions thereon.

Still glancing backwards, there

has been a very welcome break-

through with the Land Registry and

Registry of Deeds with the appoint-

ment of the new Registrar of Titles,

Ms. Catherine Treacy, and the

announcement that the Registries

are to be converted into a semi-

state body. We think there has

already been a marked improve-

ment in the Land Registry since the

Registrar's appointment (the post

having been vacant for much too

long) and we hope that this trend

will continue until there is a full

satisfactory service from both

Registries. This is obviously a

matter that will be kept under con-

tinuing review.

Looking forward - perhaps one

of the major events of the coming

year is the bi-centenary of the

establishment of the Law Club of

Ireland in 1791. The Younger

Members Committee has already

expressed a wish to mark this with

an appropriate celebration - I fully

support this wish. The date, venue

and format for this celebration have

yet to be decided but it will befit a

bi-centenary and we will keep the

members fully informed.

The 4th January 1991 will also

be a significant date because it is

on this date that the E.C. Directive

on reciprocity and recognition of

qualification of E.C. practising

lawyers must be implemented. This

PRESIDENT 1990/1991

Donal G. Binchy

Mr. Donal (Don) Binchy has

been elected President of The

Law Society. He was educated

at C.B.S. High School, Clonmel,

and Clongowes Wood College.

He qualified and was admitted

as a Solicitor in 1951 having

been awarded a Silver Medal in

his final examination. He is

Senior Partner in the firm of

O'Brien & Binchy, Clonmel, and

a Past-President of the County

Tipperary Bar Association. He

was elected to the Council in

1975 and has served as Chair-

man of the Parliamentary Com-

mittee, Taxation Committee

and Education Committee. Mr.

Binchy and his wife Joan have

four children, Frederic and

Donald who are Partners in

O'Brien & Binchy, Mary Rose

O'Donnell who is also a

qualified Solicitor and Grace.

will open the way for all our

solicitors in England to become

enrolled as solicitors there and

should also open opportunities for

members of the profession

throughout the Community. We

cannot exclude the possibility of

reverse traffic but I think we have

much more to gain than to lose

from this Directive.

I join with my predecessors in

appealing for support for the

Solicitors' Mutual Defence Fund

and the Solicitors's Financial

Services Company. It is important

for all of us that we support these

projects which are our own and

exist for our own benefit. The

importance

professional

indemnity protection both for

solicitor and client is self evident

and I have no doubt that the long

term advantages lie in supporting

our own fund. The Solicitors'

Financial Services Company is a

new project to help our profession

compete in the area of financial

services and to avoid the loss of

this business to other professions

and financial institutions.

As a profession, I believe that we

give a good service to the public.

We have in the past and will in the

future demonstrate our determin-

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