The Gazette 1971

Solicitors' European Group

Conference

A Joint Conference between the Solicitors' European Group and a group of French lawyers was held in London

and the meetings on Friday, April 30th, were held in the Connaught Rooms, while those on Saturday, May

1st were held in the Thames-side Trafalgar Tavern in Greenwich.

ARTICLES

Maitre Louis Edmond Pettiti, Secretary-General of the

Association of European Jurists, initiated the discussion

and stated that the Commission of the European Com-

munity had issued a proposed directive, which advo-

cated that certain activities of lawyers should hence-

forth be freely exchangeable between the signatories of

States and applicant States in the Common Market.

The rapporteur of the Juridical Commission had

advised that this directive (fully quoted by Maitre

Pettiti) should be adopted, but in November 1970 the

European Parliament declined to do so. The practical

measures to re-examine the directive will be brought

before a meeting of the Consultative Commission in

Milan, Italy, in October 1971, with a view to its being

eventually re-examined by the European Parliament,

and possibly by the Council of Ministers. The French

delegation viewed with concern the attitude taken up

hv the Bars of Federal Germany and Luxembourg

which influenced their Parliamentary delegates, and

expressed their apprehension to the vote taken on 23rd

March 1970. Furthermore the French Bar would appear

to he placed in an unfavourable position because mem-

bers of Bars of Common Market countries could open

up chambers in France without ever having practised

in their country of origin. While the delegations of

France, Italy and the Netherlands were in favour of

implementing the directive, the delegations of Belgium,

Federal Germany and Luxembourg maintained their

opposition on the ground that such a decision should

not be made by the Community as a whole; a com-

promise may he evolved by means of bilateral treaties

between two of the member States which would pro-

vide for specific reciprocal rights for their respective

lawyers. A bilateral treaty between Britain and France

should not be excluded. (This compromise was even-

tually reached at the Milan meeting.)

Reorganisation of the Legal Profession

Mr. George Coddard, Chairman of the Solicitors'

European Group, in his paper on " The Re-organisation

of the Legal Profession within the European Frame-

work", learnedly stated that undoubtedly in the future,

there was likely to be some alteration in the present

situation between lawyers and the Common Market

countries—hut the time had not yet come. While there

has been, or would tend to be, fusion between Avocats

and Avoues in France and Belgium, this practice is not

likely to be successful in England, as we are a conser-

vative, inward-looking profession, who are proud of

our own institutions. However, the following are matters

in which changes could be considered :

(a) Education;

(b) Freedom of movement and of establishment

between lawyers;

associations is at present being considered by them

Council of the Law Society;

(d) The question of inter-professional partnerships

between lawyers and accountants or surveyors will be

considered at the July conference in Paris of the Union

Internationale des Avocats.

The main differences between our system of legal

education and the continental one were :

(a) In England, unlike the Continent, a student has

not got to attend a university compulsorily and obtain

a law degree, in order to practise.

(b) In England, the law student obtains his legal

professional tuition from special colleges set up by the

professional bodies i.e. The College of Law, and the

Council of Legal Education.

inations, a barrister is fully entitled to practise once he

has had six months of pupilage. A solicitor's articled

clerk (or apprentice) is supposed to obtain his practical

experience during his apprenticeship and, having passed

the requisite examinations, he is entitled to practise as

soon as the period of apprenticeship is over. The contin-

ental practice of serving a "stage" with a master after

qualifying before being entitled to practise does not

as yet exist in England.

Ormrod Committee on Legal Education

The Ormrod Committee on Legal Education has pro-

posed the following improvements :

(a) In future there should be a joint educational

course for solicitors and barristers undertaken in univer-

sities.

(b) This should he followed by a joint one year's

vocational course for barristers and solicitors run by the

universities—this may give rise to criticism in unin-

formed circles.

limited practice, after which they will be entitled to

full practice. At the moment, inexperienced articled

clerks are not likely to he paid, whereas, under the new

system, they would he worthy of proper professional

remuneration during their period of limited practice.

In the event of Britain entering the Community, it

should be stressed that there is no equivalent of barrister

or solicitor on the Continent—the solicitor and barrister

perform different functions but their teamwork provides

a first-class service to the client. As regards the right of

establishment, it is agreed that both barrister and soli-

citor will at first have the same rights in the municipal

field. If the Ormrod Committee proposals are imple-

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