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GAZETTE
NOVEMBER 1991
vision which will effectively prevent
the Society in the future from
banning fee advertising.
The Society has already given its
reaction publicly to these pro-
visions - to which it is opposed -
and I will not repeat here what the
Society has already said. I will,
however, say that, bad and all as
the profession may think these
proposals are, they could have been
worse. We are, at least, being
spared the introduction here of the
'licenced conveyancer' such as
they already have in England. In our
neighbouring jurisdiction up North,
where recently published legis-
lation proposes to follow the British
example, the Law Society is already
discussing the possibility of
solicitors w i t hd r aw i ng their
services in protest. It is important,
therefore, that, in considering and
debating the proposals in the Bill,
we maintain a sense of balance
about them. We should also
remember the strengths we have
as a unified solicitors profession.
Quite apart from the fact that we
can and will successfully compete
with any opposition in these areas,
we should not be slow to remind
the banks, in particular, of the
importance to them of solicitors as
customers. I -would personally be
suprised if banks had any serious
intention of getting involved in
these areas.
The second matter that I want to
mention, in this context, is the
provisions in the Bill which will, to
some extent, enable decisions to be
taken which could alter the way in
which the profession is structured
in the future. I allude principally to
the provision which would, if the
Society t hought f i t, enable
practices to become incorporated
and the provision which would
allow multi-disciplinary and multi-
national practices to be estab-
lished. Again, the Society is very
much in control in relation to these
matters as the provisions in the Bill
are enabling ones only and leave it
to the Society itself to decide
whe t her these developments
should be brought in. Once again,
however, it is important to bear in
mind, in considering the Bill as a
whole, that there is nothing in it
which threatens the future of the
solicitors profession or nothing
which should cause any fears in
relation to the possibility of coerced
fusion.
Conclusion
On the whole, this is a Bill which
assists the profession and the
Society and, while members will
strongly oppose some of its pro-
visions, overall it should contribute
The attention of practitioners is
drawn to a Pre-Apprenticeship
Register which is maintained by the
Society's Law School. This is a
comprehensive index of the names
and personal particulars of stud-
ents seeking the help of the Law
Society in securing apprenticeship
and who are otherwise eligible to
attend
the
Law
School's
Professional Course.
Students on the Register are
catalogued by name and their area
of origin and, accordingly,
practitioners, and particularly those
from outside of Dublin, are en-
couraged to make use of the
Register if they are interested at all
in taking on an apprentice.
The merits of a rural practioner
taking on an apprentice at a time
where there is some evidence of
disinclination on the part of
qualified solicitors to move to
employment outside Dublin or
the larger commercial centres
cannot be over-emphasised.
Contrary to the Society's original
expectations, it is now possible to
assign an apprentice to a
Professional Course starting only a
f ew months after the com-
mencement of apprenticeship, as
soon as the apprentice has found
substantially to enhancing the
image of the profession as we
move through the 90s and face the
inevitable competition that the
future will bring in Ireland. It has
something to offer in relation to
most of the major areas of concern
to the Society and, if implemented
effectively, it will, in my view,
strengthen the profession and
enhance its status and reputation
as a profession which, in an age of
increasing consumer awareness,
provides high quality legal services,
is client-orientated and gives good
value for money.
•
an office. Indeed, not infrequently,
students on the Pre-Apprenticeship
Register who are recruited by
practitioners find that they can
ease the worry of offices by
securing admission to the next
available Professional Course,
provided they have three months
spent in the office before the
course starts.
This service is without charge and
is absolutely confidential. It is
entirely a matter for any solicitor
contacting the Law School whether
he or she wishes to recruit or even
to interview a prospective app-
rentice whose details have been
furnished. The Society strongly
encourages practitioners to
consider taking on an apprentice,
and, furthermore, to consider the
use of the Society's Pre-Appren-
ticeship Register.
For further particulars please
contact:
Albert Power,
Assistant Director of Education,
The Incorporated Law Society of
Ireland.
Blackhall Place,
Dublin 7.
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345
Pre-Apprenticeship Register