The Gazette 1993

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GAZETTE APRIL. 1993
by simply moving it from one system
to another. PC fax boards are not
expensive and the cost of modems
has reduced considerably over the
past number of years. High
specification modems now allow for
the transmission of an A4 page in 3
seconds. A modem is necessary
because the digital output from the
computer system must be converted
into analog for transmission across
certain parts of the telephone
network. There are a number of
points to be borne in mind with the
use of PC fax boards:
• There will be an overhead of
anything between 80kb and lOOkb
for monitoring and transmission
of facsimile documents. An A4
page in word processing format
occupies about 2kb; an A4 fax
page occupies about lOOkb.
Consequently the facility will
require high specification PCs
with sufficient power resources.
• Transmission speeds will be
dictated in part by the toleration
of the packet switching network.
• The PC fax facility should be
Second Jurist Europe
Convention
The second Jurist Europe conference
will be held in Manchester at the
Royal Northern College of Music
from 1-4 September, 1993. Jurist
Europe is a conference of business
lawyers and its principal aim is to
allow lawyers to meet on an
individual basis to enable them to
create links across Europe and
thereby provide a comprehensive
European legal service to clients
operating in the single market.
Over 400 delegates from 27 countries
attended the first conference which
was held in Bordeaux in October,
1992.
Further information about the 1993
Convention is available from Ms.
FM Eccles, Assistant Administrative
Secretary, Manchester Law Society,
Rationale House, Bridge Street,
Manchester M3 3BN, MDX 14378,
England.
capable of operating in
background mode so that the PC
can be used for other tasks while
a transmission is taking place.
• Paper copies of both incoming
and outgoing computerised
documents may still be required
for filing and other purposes.
One of the most important elements
in developing computer to computer
communications is having a
sufficient number of initial users to
communicate with each other. This
is one of the difficulties which has
faced LIX (Legal Information
Exchange) an electronic document
transfer system which was established
with the support of the Law Society
and the Bar Council in the United
Kingdom. The system not only
provides for the transfer of
documents but also for translation
between differing systems and the
checking of documents automatically
once they are received by one system
from another.4 The intention is to
reduce costs, substantially reduce the
time factor involved in processing of
documents and provide a superior
service to clients. Here, the
Medico-Legal Society:
On Thursday 25 March, 1993, the
Medico-Legal Society of Ireland will
be holding the final lecture in its
current session which will deal with
the topic. "Involuntary Admissions
to Psychiatric Hospital." The
speakers are Tom Cooney, Civil
Liberties Association and Professor
Tom Fahy, Department of Psychiatry,
University College Hospital, Galway.
The lecture will take place at 8.30
pm at the United Services Club, St.
Stephen's Green, Dublin 2.
Membership details of the Medico-
Legal Society of Ireland are available
upon request to Mary MacMurrough
Murphy BL at 2 Whitebeam Road,
Clonskeagh, Dublin 14 (tel. 2694280)
or at the Law Library, Four Courts,
Dublin 7 (tel. 720622). •
SURVEILLANCE
Discreet Listening and
Recording Equipment
Telephone For 1993 Catalogue
Pegasus (01)2843819
Incorporated Law Society has been
active through the Lawlink project
over a number of years in
researching the possibility of a
similar project which would provide
a range of services and
communications facilities between
practitioners throughout the country.
References
1. See "Comment is free but fax is
Sacred" Charles Christian New Law
Journal 13 September, 1991.
2. See, for example, S.30 Criminal
Evidence Act, 1992; and the Stock
Transfer Forms Regulations, 1991 (SI
77/91). Hastie -v- Jenkerson and
McMahon 1990 1 WLR 1575. "The
Transmission of Documents by fax"
Dr. E.G. Hall Gazette (ILSI)
January/February, 1993; "Got the
Message?" Anthony Hofler Law
Society Gazette (London) 8 July, 1992;
"Exchanging Contracts by Fax" Philip
H. Kenney Law Society Gazette
(London) 21 September, 1988.
3. See Practice Notes Gazette (ILSI)
March 1988.
4. See "EDI - is there life after fax?"
Michael O'Sullivan Gazette (ILSI)
July/August, 1992. •
Duties of a Solicitor
to Apprentice
The Education Committee has decided
to draw up a set of guidelines to
cover the duties and obligations of a
solicitor to his/her apprentice. It is
hoped that these guidelines will be
contained in a new edition of the
"Guide to Professional Conduct of
Solicitors in Ireland", which is
currently being reviewed.
The Committee invites submissions on
the topic from individual practitioners,
apprentices or bar associations and
such contributions should be directed
to: Brian J. Mahon, Vice-chairman,
The Education Committee, Blackhall
Place, Dublin 7. •
English Agents: Agency work
undertaken for Irish solicitors in
both litigation and non-
contentious matters - including
legal aid. Fearon & Co.,
Solicitors, 12 The Broadway,
Woking, Surrey GU21 5AU.
.
Fax:
72