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GAZETTE
APRIL 1980
Society hosts Joint
Education Meeting
The second joint meeting of the Education Committees
of the Law Societies of England and Wales, Scotland,
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland was held at
Blackhall Place, on January 31st and February 1st,
1980. Each of the Societies has introduced radical
changes to its educational systems in the last few years,
indeed so recent are the changes, that only in Northern
Ireland has the first batch of students passed through the
system. While at first sight there are obvious differences
between the new systems, e.g. the Northern Ireland
system is a joint Solicitor/Bar Training System followed
by practice for the Restricted Certificate, the Scottish
have a University organised but practitioner taught voca-
tional course, followed by traineeship in a Solicitor's
office, the England and Wales system has special courses
at Polytechnics and the College of Law, followed by
Apprenticeship, and of course our system is a "Sandwich
Course" comprising a professional course, service as an
Apprentice followed by an advanced course, what
emerged was how similar the aims and approaches of all
the Societies were. The differences were often brought
about by local circumstances, e.g. in Northern Ireland
linking the new Institute for the Queen's University
Belfast made sense. Queens had the only University law
faculty in Northern Ireland, and in Scotland the Universi-
hes had long since taken over the training of Solicitors,
w
hile in England and Wales, the sheer size of the
profession and the numbers seeking entry to articles in
a n
y given year, 3,000 places are available in the training
courses, ruled out centralisation. The availability of
Higher Education Grants dictated that training schemes
remain within existing third level institutions in each of the
jurisdictions.
The problem of estimating the demand for Solicitors
fnd providing an adequate supply is common to all four
jurisdictions, and indeed to other parts of the common
'aw world, particularly Australia and New Zealand where
over supply has reached serious levels, and the Society's
'978 study on the supply and demand of Solicitors in the
Republic of Ireland has been the subject of interested
enquiry.
A major area in which the Society's professional
course differs from its U.K. counterparts is in its
abandonment of the old "Eight Questions - do Six in
bree hours" type examination paper and its replacement
y
a
continual testing and assessment system in the
Professional course.
Other topics touched on included continuing legal
education courses, use of audio visual equipment, and
monitoring of apprenticeship.
One of the topics discussed was the reciprocal recogni-
,Q
n of qualifications, where the host country was
embarrassed to find that because of statutory restraint it
w
as unable to offer the same advances towards mutual
rec
°gnition as the other jurisdictions had achieved.
Meetings of this nature provide useful cross-fertilisa-
, o n
°f ideas enabling the participants to learn by other
Peoples mistakes rather than their own and hopefully
r e s u l t
each Society borrowing the best ideas of the
other. The next meeting in the series will take place in
1981 in Edinburgh.
• Those present at the meeting and appearing in the cover photo are
(from left to right): Professor Larry Sweeney, Law Society, Mr.
Frank Daly, Vice-Chairman and Mr. John Buckley, Chairman of
the Law Society's Education Committee, Professor Richard
Woulfe, Law Society, Mr. W. Alan Logan, Northern Ireland, Mr.
James Elliott, Northern Ireland, Mr. Christopher Snowling,
England and Wales, Mr. Richard Holbrook, England and Wales]
Mr. Comghall McNally, Northern Ireland, Mr. James J. Ivers]
Director General of the Law Society, Mr. Christopher Hewetson]
England and Wales, Mr. G. R. G. Graham, Scotland, Professor
Philip Love, Scotland, Mr. R. A. Edwards, President, Law Society
of Scotland, Mrs. Carolyn Slater, Scotland, Mr. Eric Taylor,
England and Wales and Mr. Arthur Hoole, England and Wdes.'
Incorporated Law Society of
Ireland
EXAMINATION TIMETABLE 1980
Closing dale
for receipt
Examination
of entries
Dales
Book-keeping
11 June
21 May
Repeat of Final Examination
— 1st Part
18-25 June
(inclusive)
2 June
I st and 2nd Irish
8 and 9 July
12 June
Preliminary Examination
15 & 16 July
12 June
I st, 2nd & 3rd Law
Examinations
13-25 August
(inclusive)
4 ju|
y
Book keeping
7 October
15 September
Ist and 2nd Irish
2 & 3 December
3 November
Final Examination — Ist Part (not Fixed)
PRESENTATION OF PARCHMENTS IN 1980
Wednesday, 25 June
Wednesday, 29 October
All examinations to be held at Blackhall Place unless notice given to
the contrary.
INVESTIGATIONS
Full
Photographic
and Surveillance Equipment
available
for all
assignments.
Contact:
CHASE RESEARCH,
70 NORTHUMBERLAND ROAD,
BALLSBRIDGE,
DUBLIN 4.
Telephone 762840
24-hour Service.
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