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GAZETTE
NOVEMBER 1991
Obituary - George G. Overend
While he would no doubt have been
an excellent accountant, for he
possessed remarkable mathe-
matical skills,
George Overend
probably never contemplated any
career other than the law. His
grandfather was a judge, as was his
uncle Kingsbury, and his father was
a distinguished solicitor and former
president of the Law Society - but
the real determinant in his choice
of profession was his certainty that
he would enjoy the practice of law.
He savoured it because it afforded
him the opportunity of bringing all
his talents into play and gave him
the infinite variety of challenge
which he so loved. Highly articu-
late, he had an astonishing memory
which was steeped in knowledge
of the law. All this, allied to a
natural pragmatism, made him a
very desirable man to have on one's
side in any encounter.
His ability to quickly tease out what
was important in, say, a Finance
Act, and where it differed from pre-
ceding Finance Acts, was out-
standing. It all seemed so effortless
it was all the more impressive.
Where a consultation was held to
solve some difficult problem he
could light up the whole meeting by
supplying the solution which had
evaded everybody else. After one
such occasion the client spoke of
him as "a lad with a good head"
- a truly Irish accolade, indicating
not just intelligence, but also
wisdom, perception and what is
popularly known as "cop", a highly
desirable quality in a lawyer.
He was the quintessential busi-
nessman's lawyer w i th his
profound knowledge of company
law, his ability to read and accu-
rately interpret a balance-sheet, his
innate common sense and the
courage to take a stand on any
matter of importance. These
qualities made him a very valuable
board member on a number of well
known public companies and he
was also a past president of the
Law Society and a former governor
of the Irish Times Trust. As an
innovator in a solicitors' practice he
introduced anything which he
thought might lead to greater eff-
iciency and he always closely
concerned himself with young
solicitors and had no peer in their
instruction and training.
Part of the essence of a man is lost
if there is no mention of
imperfection: he becomes too good
to be true. It is correct that from
time to time GGO, as he was
popularly known, appeared to be
abrupt, impatient and even a trifle
irascible. This is understandable
when one remembers how often he
worked into the small hours of the
morning on complex matters. On a
cold appraisal, however, there was
no defect of any significance to be
found in his character or bearing.
This superbly talented man was
free from rhetoric, from bombast
and from false pride.
For all of us who respected and
admired him his monument is the
standard of excellence, of integrity
and of dedication which he set. Our
deepest sympathy goes out in
particular to those most closely
affected by his death, his loving
and devoted wife
Muriel
and his
daughters
Janet, Lorna and Cherrie.
'A Lawyer'
(Reprinted by kind permission of
'The Irish Times')
Competition Act, 1991
The Competition
Act
1991
(Commencement) Order, 1991,
(S.I.
No. 249 of 1991) brings the main
provisions of the
Competition Act,
1991
into effect from October 1,
1991. The order establishes the
Competition Authority from that
date and also retains the Restrictive
Practices (Groceries) Order, 1987.
The Competition (Notification Fee)
Regulations 1991,
(S.I. No. 250 of
1991) prescribe the appropriate fee
to be sent with any agreement,
decision or concerted practice
wh i ch is notified under the
Competition Act, 1991.
That fee is
£100.00.
Practice
Notes
VHI - Form of Undertaking
Members are advised that follow-
ing discussions with the VHI, the
Society has agreed to recommend
to its members a form of under-
taking to be furnished to the VHI
where the VHI has agreed to
discharge hospital and medical
expenses for the client to the
extent of his cover limits. The
recommended fee payable to the
solicitor in respect of such under-
taking is £60 plus VAT. The form of
authority to be completed by the
member and the form of
undertaking to be completed by the
solicitor are set out hereunder.
Authority
In consideration of the VHI dis-
charging my hospital and medical
expenses to the extent of my
cover limits, I undertake to the
VHI to include these expenses as
part of my claim against a third
party(ies). I hereby irrevocably
authorise the solicitor(s) repre-
senting me in making a claim to
furnish to the VHI an undertaking
in the following form:-
In consideration of the VHI
discharging the hospital and
medical expenses of my/our
client (name), l/we hereby
undertake to include as part of
my/our client's (name) claim the
monies so paid by the VHI
(details of wh i ch are now
supplied to us by the VHI) and
subject to any order to the
contrary, to repay to the VHI out
of the proceeds that come into
our hands the net amount
recovered in respect of such
payments made by the VHI.
Signed:
Injured Member
Litigation
Committee
367