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G A Z E T TE
M AY 1994
N E W S
Ou t l ook Pos i t i ve says
Law Soc i e ty Pres ident
Addressing a recent parchment
ceremony, at which 55 newly-
qualified solicitors were admitted to
the Roll, the President of the Law
Society,
Michael V. O'Mahony,
said
that recent positive economic
forecasts augured well for an
expansion in the business sector and
thus in demand for legal services. He
told the newly-qualified solicitors
that they were entering the
profession at a positive and
challenging time. The debate on the
Solicitors (Amendment) Bill, 1994,
was entering its final stages in Dáil
Eireann and, when enacted, would
provide a revised statutory
framework for the development of
the profession over the coming
decades. The President said that
transparency was the bye-word of the
90s, meaning that procedures would
have to be in place that would
assure the public that the manner in
which the Society performed its
regulatory functions and the manner
in which solicitors provided legal
services was fair and reasonable. The
profession should react positively to
changes aimed at achieving
those ends.
He urged the newly-qualified
solicitors to keep up-to-date and to
avail of the Continuing Legal
Education Courses run by the Law
Society. He said that on the passing
of the Bill the Society would be
empowered to introduce a
programme of mandatory Continuing
Legal Education similar to that
already operating in the UK.
The President emphasised that the
solicitors' profession was and should
always be a collegiate profession and
said that, in particular, he was
concerned that sole practitioners
would never feel that they had no
one to turn to if they had a problem.
He urged them to consult with
colleagues or to approach the Society
for assistance, early rather than later,
if they felt the need for it.
The President of the Society also
paid tribute to
Professor
Richard
Woulfe
, Director of Education in the
Society's Law School, who would be
retiring in June 1994 after sixteen
years service to the profession.
Professor Woulfe, he said, was seen
by those who came into contact with
him as above all a fair man, a man of
honour and a man of intellect. He
congratulated Professor Woulfe on
the manner in which he had served
the profession and students over his
long period of service with the
Law Society.
Addressing the newly-qualified
solicitors, the President of the High
Court, the
Hon. Mr. Justice Liam
Hamilton,
told them that the practice
of law was a most satisfying
profession because the order of
society centered around the
administration of law with justice.
He urged them to give their clients
every consideration and assistance.
As young solicitors they had a world
of opportunity before them, but their
objective and the objective of
everyone involved in the
administration of justice should
primarily always be to serve the
community. "Never forget that your
primary role is to serve justice and to
attempt to ensure that everybody gets
an equal opportunity. Fair play
should be your guiding principle," he
said. Hp asked the newly-qualified
solicitors to honour the trust that was
being placed in them and said that if
they did so they would be playing a
vital role in achieving a better
society for all.
•
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