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GAZETTE
DECEMBER 1988
Younger Members News
SYS Au t umn Semi nar
Once again the Society of Young
Solicitors (SYS) may be credited
w i th a superb Au t umn Seminar
which took place between the
4 t h - 6 t h of November last at Hotel
Kilkenny and attracted a record
attendance of over 300 people. The
seminar was a joint seminar w i th
the Bar.
On Saturday morning Mr. Vivion
Gill imparted a most compre-
hensive lecture on the Jurisdiction
of Courts and Enforcement of
Judgements (European Commun-
ities) Act 1988, a subject that
we are all beginning to hear more
about. (A copy of the lecture is
available from Norman Spendlove
at the " Go od Value" price of
£6.00.)
Mr. Gill was followed by an open
forum discussion between the Bar
and Solicitors, presided over by a
prestigious panel comprising Mr.
Thomas Shaw, Mrs. Mary Collins,
Solr., Mr. Peter Shanley, S.C., Mr.
Colm Allen, B.L., and chaired by the
Attorney General, Mr. John Murray,
S.C. The discussion covered a wide
range of topics such as fusion of
the professions, the " Ch amb e r s"
system, the independance of the
t wo education systems and the
a r gumen ts in favour of their
amalgamation. The debate was a
rather lively one and there was no
shortage of speakers from the
floor.
After lunch those who were
interested attended a very helpful
l ec t u re and q u e s t i o n / a n swer
session w i th Mr. Brian Forrester of
the Bank of Ireland. Mr. Forrester
dealt w i th a substantial number of
issues relating to the financing of
a so l i c i t o rs p r ac t i ce and t he
i nc r eas i ng number of
bank
p r odu c ts available wh i ch are
relevant to a solicitors or barristers
practice.
On a lighter note, the "organised"
social activities began on Saturday
afternoon w i th a Treasure Hunt in
or about a number of public houses
within a ten-mile radius of Kilkenny
City, organised by Brian O'Connor.
The previous evening at Hotel
Kilkenny is also wo r t hy of a
mention as many confused night-
porters in the hotel wandered
around w i th trays of alcoholic
beverage destined for the occu-
pants of various hotel rooms whose
i d e n t i ty c h a n g ed a f t er each
round!!!
As always, the Saturday evening
banquet was an enormous success
w i th live music until 2.00a.m. and
" o t h e r " music until 4 . 00a .m.
approximately. The banquet was
enjoyed by all and the guests who
a t t e n d ed we re t he A t t o r n ey
General and Mrs. Murray; Mr. Jim
Cody and Mr. Brian Desmond, both
of the Bank of Ireland; Mr. and Mrs.
John Lanigan; Mr. Michael V.
O'Mahony; Mr. Kevin Feeney, B.L.,
and Mr. Colm Allen, B.L.
Sunday morning produced a very
lively and well attended session on
Defamation presided over by a
panel of well-known figures in this
area, namely Vincent Browne,
Michael V. O'Mahony, Conor Brady,
Niall Fennelly, S.C. and chaired by
Charles Meenan, B.L. Subjects
covered included an analysis of the
US law of defamation and a
c omp a r i s on
w i t h
t he
Irish
framework, a review of the home
system and the ways in wh i ch it
could be improved w i t h in the
existing legal framework.
All in all, many congratulations to
the SYS and the Bar, in particular
Terence McCrann, Chairman of the
SYS and Charles Meenan, B.L.
The Seminar was sponsored by
the Bank of Ireland (generously!)
and Butterworths.
The next SYS Seminar will take
place in Limerick from the 21st to
the 23rd of April next - take note!
•
(Left to right):
Terence McC r a n n,
SYS , B r i an Fo r r e s t er ( g u e st
speake r) Ma r k e t i ng Ma n a g e r,
Ba nk of I r e l and a nd Cha r l es
Me e n a n, Ba r r i s t e r.
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