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GAZETTE
1
Younger Members News
JU
LY/AUGUST
1991
A conference, organised by the
Union Des Jeunes Avocats de Paris
(The Young Lawyers Association of
the Paris Bar) was held in the Palais
de Justice, Paris from 12th to 14th
April, 1991. It was attended by
Patricial Boyd and Gabrielle Dalton
on behalf of the Younger Members
Committee of the Law Society.
The theme for the "European
Weekend" was the representation
of the legal profession.
The conference was attended by
the Young Lawyers from France,
Italy, Belgium, Holland, England,
Switzerland and Romania as well
as Ireland. On first day of the pro-
gramme, papers were delivered in
French by a member of each
delegation outlining how pro-
fessional training is organised in
each country, apprentices' salaries,
disciplinary procedures, job op-
portunities, organisation of firms,
ethics and other topics. The French
Bar was unique in that there is no
national organisation such as the
Law Society; each regional Bar
regulates discipline, ethics, etc.
One of their present concerns was
the recent fusing of the professions
of " A v o c a t" and "Conse il
Juridique".
The Romanian Lawyers high-
lighted the problems facing their
profession which is directly under
the control of the Ministry of
Justice. They are actively seeking
the liberalisation of the legal pro-
fession and are endeavouring to
prepare for development in the
areas of commercial and environ-
mental law.
Patricia Boyd delivered a paper in
French congratulating the English
for being the first Member State to
recognise the E.C. Directive on
Mutual Recognition of Diplomas.
The similarities between the legal
systems in our respective juris-
dictions were acknowledged but
the differences in representation of
the profession were noted. There
are two organisations representing
the interest of young apprentices/
solicitors namely the Trainee
Solicitors' Group and the Younger
Members Group of the English Law
Society, while in Ireland, there is
no specific group representing
apprentices.
The second day of the pro-
gramme consisted of a tour of the
Paris Law School; a lecture on
psychoanalysis was in progress
during our visit! The facilities were
extremely modern and included
large lecture halls, language
laboratories and a very good
restaurant.
The conference ended with a
sociable brunch on Sunday and an
exchange of names and addresses.
It is hoped to write to each delegate
asking them to keep us informed of
further European events and letting
them know about what is being
organised here. Already we have
facilitated Irish solicitors who were
interested in making contact with
Romanian lawyers in relation to
adoption procedures both here and
in Romania.
It is clear from our attendance at
the conference how important it is
for Irish lawyers to make and
maintain social and professional
contact with lawyers from non-
common law jurisdictions es-
pecially those in the E.C. if we are
to participate fully in an open
Europe. It also struck us forcibly
that we must achieve competence
in at least one Commun i ty
language to keep pace with our
European colleagues.
PATRICIA BOYD
YMC
Have you ever wondered how to
cram a whole week into just two
days (and I'm not talking about
catching up with work)?
Practical lessons are now
available - on a strictly first come,
first served basis - from the
Northern Ireland Young Solicitors
Group (NIYSG), as a party of
twenty-four from both the Society
of Young Solicitors and the Younger
Members Committee recently
discovered when we were invited
to their Sixth Annual Conference
held in Templepatrick, outside
Belfast, on Friday and Saturday
10th and 11th May.
Sadly, pressure of work caused
all of us to miss the opening lunch
and afternoon workshops which
this year had a European theme
as the Conference was jointly
hosted with the Northern Ireland
Solicitors European Group. We
made up for this late start how-
ever by participating (very) actively
in all of the events so ably
organised by Hilary Wells and her
colleagues.
The weekend proper began with
the Conference Ball on Friday
evening held in the Templeton Hotel
(which for those David Lynch fans
among us bore a striking
resemblance to the hotel in "Twin
Peaks" - and here I'm talking about
the decor and nothing else!).
Everyone enjoyed both the Ball and
the apres-Ball which included the
first singsong of the weekend
featuring the Conference's massed
choirs.
Saturday began bright and early
at 11.30 a.m. (well, its all relative
and, believe me, with the amount
of sleep everyone got it felt very
early and was far too bright).
This was to be the Longest Day,
at least that's what everyone
thought who read the page long
Programme - and there was even a
Bridge Too Far. But before that a
coach load of us headed off to the
Antrim Coast and Giants causeway
where James Wells, who must be
the most charismatic member of
the National Trust, treated us to a
most enjoyable tóur of this wonder
of the world.
After that, we stopped for lunch
in Bushmills Village - although the
spirit was willing, the Distillery was
closed (which probably wasn't the
best decision they ever made!). A
very good lunch was enjoyed by all
at the Bushmills Inn and it was easy
to see why this old coaching inn
had been recommended by Egon
Ronay. After lunch we travelled to
Carrick a Rede Bridge which was
quite a challenge but as lawyers,
well used to walking without safety
nets, we boldly went where only
the rope bridge led and happily
everyone enjoyed the walk on the
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