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GAZETTE
SEPTEMBER 1993
First German Lawyer on the Roll
Dr. Walter Eberl, pictured on the occasion of his admission to the Roll last
February, with the President of the Law Society, Raymond Monahan.
At a recent seminar in Dublin on cross-
qualifying in other EC jurisdictions
called "How to become a Euro-lawyer:
The Practical Aspects of Requalifying in
other EC Member States" I had the
honour to deliver a paper. The descript-
ion "Euro-lawyer" seems to be a
relatively new invention. Unfortunately,
European integration has not yet arrived
at a stage where a qualification in any one
Member State would entitle a lawyer to
establish himself or herself in any other
Member State. Therefore, at present a
"Euro-lawyer" can best be described as
somebody who is qualified as a lawyer in
more than one EC country. The seed for
this new species of lawyers has been
created by the EC Directive 89/48 of
December 21, 1988 on the Mutual
Recognition of Qualifications and
Diplomas. This directive was imple-
mented by Germany and Ireland on July
16, 1990 and 1991 (Statutory Instrument
No. 1) respectively. Both countries now
offer transfer tests to qualify lawyers
from other EC States. Today the "Euro-
lawyers"still form a rather small club. As
you may already have guessed, the author
of this report is a member of it.
Due to lucky circumstances I happened
to be the first German lawyer and indeed
the first person ever to sit the transfer test
in Ireland. After qualifying and practising
as a "Rechtsanwalt" in Munich for some
years I decided to move to "Dublin's fair
city" to gain further experience in
international law and further practical
knowledge of the Common Law System. I
therefore joined Whitney, Moore &
Keller, one of Dublin's leading
commercial law firms for a period of six
months. During this challenging time
many new ideas were bom, among them
the idea of availing of the new liberalisa-
tion and qualifying as an Irish solicitor.
Some might say that the application to
qualify in Ireland was just an excuse to
return more often to this lovely country.
They might be right but there was also the
motivation to better understand the
common law system as distinct from the
civil law system. After a productive
experience in the Dublin law firm and a
period of hard study at home in Munich I
came back to Dublin in early October
1992 to sit the transfer test which I passed
successfully. When I returned to Dublin in
February this year to attend an impressive
Parchment Ceremony at the Law Society
all the hard work was forgotten.
If one can draw a conclusion from the full
attendance at the above mentioned
seminar in Dublin, there will be a growing
number of young lawyers in the future
who are interested in cross-qualifying as a
Rechtsanwalt, avocat, solicitor, barrister,
advokat etc. in other EC countries. I think
this has to be a good development. Good
luck to all fellow-pioneers!
Dr. Walter Eberl
Schwarz Schniewind Kelwing, Munich. •
Reprinted courtesy of
AIJA Gazette.
Date for your Diary:
6 0s
NIGHT
Friday, 12
November, 1993
Presidents Hall,
Blackhall Place
Proceeds to CYC
community youth
projects in Dublin.
• disco * b u f f e t supper
* d r aw f o r wee k end
i n London
6 0 s d r e ss e s s e n t i a l.
See Oc t ober
Gazette
f o r
f u r t h e r de t a i l s.
s
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LAW SOCIETY
Public Seminar
Staged by the Public Relations
Committee
Marital Breakdown
- The Legal & Social
Responses
Saturday, 9 Oc t ober,
1993, 10.00 am - 4 . 00 pm.
P r es i den ts Ha l l,
B l a c k ha ll Place
Fee £20 i nc l ud i ng lunch
(proceeds donated to FLAC)
Speakers:
Mervyn Taylor, TD,
Minister for Equality St Law
Reform;
Brian Sheridan,
Solicitor, Law Society Council;
Mary O'Toole,
BL;
Mary Lloyd,
Solicitor/Mediator;
Dr. Gerry
Byrne,
Psychiatrist;
Kieran
McGrath,
Social Worker.
Please c on t a ct
Mary Kinsella
at the Law Society, 6710711
to reserve your place
280