The Gazette 1994

GAZETTE

W H

APRIL 1994

N e w C a r e e r O p p o r t u n i t i es

S o u g h t f o r S o l i c i t o r s

various departments of the member

companies to the "front-house"

personnel, who should be briefed on

the Scheme, the terminology and the

procedures involved.

A substantial (12%) number of

complainants have chosen to refer

their claims to me with the help of

their solicitor. I point out at the first

opportunity to solicitors that, as the

scheme has no provision for costs, all

expenses are the responsibility of the

claimant, but this has not been a

deterrent.

As the first Insurance Ombudsman,

and having made my contribution over

the last twelve months to the

establishment of the office in this

country, the responsibility rests with

me to imbue the office with integrity

and credibility and to inspire

confidence in the functioning of the

Ombudsman's role. I would like to

record my thanks to all the solicitors

who have, so far, used my Office. I

would be pleased to give any further

information on the operation of the

scheme and to supply copies of the

explanatory leaflet, which sets out, in

broad terms, procedures required in

referring a complaint, dispute or claim

to me, in addition to a

Guide to

Complainants,

which gives a

picture of how a case will be handled

when it arrives on my desk. Copies

of the terms of reference are available

from me on request.

Pauline

Marrinan-Quinn

Insurance Ombudsman of Ireland.

Did you ever consider recruiting a

solicitor for something

other

than

your legal problems?

This is the opening salvo of a

brochure being widely distributed to

employers of graduates in the service,

commercial, industrial and State

sectors nationwide. The Society's Law

School has taken this proactive step in

an attempt to relieve the build-up of

pressure within the profession. As a

high priority, it is currently attempting

to create an awareness amongst

employers that solicitors are capable

of meeting a far wider range of

challenges in the marketplace.

Not alone is this opening of the mind

relating to the marketability of

solicitors necessary amongst

employers, solicitors themselves often

have a somewhat limited perception of

their own versatility and

marketability. Many experience little

professional satisfaction in a career

choice made at eighteen or twenty

years of age. Yet to alter course or

move laterally is often misconstrued

by themselves and others as an

admission that they are 'a failed

solicitor'. They feel caught between a

rock and a hard place.

Feedback to the Law School's Careers

Adviser,

Hazel Boylan,

indicates a

very high level of interest in

alternative career opportunities.

Especially among newly-qualified

solicitors whose indentures have

expired, there is burgeoning pressure

to find other openings or

opportunities. To this end, Hazel has

run several CV development

workshops for solicitors seeking to

broaden their options. What she has

found is a strong enculturation

through their professional training - a

strict adherence to the letter of the law

which they find not only difficult, but

frightening, to break. The workshops

have two primary objectives: to offer

an opportunity to solicitors to realise

their transferable skills; and to

provide them with non-technical,

everyday language to describe what

they do.

The brochure for employers poses

questions such as: 'How can you

identify a person with the ability to

understand complex issues such as

employers' liability, product liability,

contractual obligations and

commercial law?' and 'How can you

strengthen you negotiations with

clients/contractors/suppliers before

signing a commitment and be sure that

the small print is in your favour and

not against you?' It sets out to

demonstrate some of the skills and

abilities solicitors possess which

would enhance any prospective

employer's profit or productivity and

to encourage potential employers to

consider recruiting solicitors because

of their wider, added-value

professional abilities.

Doyle Court Repor ters

Principal:

Áine O'Farrell

Court and Conference Verbatim Reporting - Specialists in Overnight Transcription

Personal Injury Judgements - Mi chae lmas and Trinity Terms 1993 - Now Ready

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