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GAZETTE
N E W S
MAY/JUNE 1995
Sub-committee on Career Development
The Society continues to be concerned
about employment prospects for the
increasing numbers of newly-qualified
: solicitors and in this context, a sub-
committee of the Education Advisory
Committee has been established under
the chairmanship of
John
Costello.
The group comprises two other
j
Education Advisory Committee
members,
Dudley Potter
and
Fionnuala
Breen-Walsh
as well as
| Philippa Howley
representing the
Younger Members and
Seamus
Cassidy,
Apprentice; executive staff
I members are
Raphael King,
Course
Co-ordinator and
Geraldine
Hynes,
Careers Advisor.
In the three meetings which have taken
place to date, the focus has been firmly
I fixed on practical initiatives to
alleviate the problems. The message is
being conveyed to second and third
j
level students and their career guidance
counsellors that the profession is
substantially over-subscribed and that
those students who are committed to
pursuing legal studies should ensure
that they concentrate from an early
stage on expanding their options rather
than restricting them. This can be done
by choosing degree courses that
provide exposure to non-legal
disciplines, e.g. business subjects or
languages, as well as law. In addition,
students and apprentices are being
encouraged to engage in part-time
courses which might enhance their
employment prospects. A list of
suggested courses is being compiled
and will be available from the careers
office in the Society from the end of
May. The possibility of running certain
courses in the Law School is also under
discussion and it is envisaged that a
management module which would be
of wider application than the present
Practice Management input will be
incorporated into the Advanced Course
in the near future.
The other main thrust of the sub-
committee is in the area of marketing
of solicitors for employment in the
broad commercial sector. This is
being done in the first instance by
meeting directly with members of the
business community to discuss the
development of the role of solicitors
in non-traditional areas of
employment and to reinforce the
message that having a solicitor on its
staff or board would be a significant
advantage to any organisation. Links
have already been established with the
Irish Business and Employers
Confederation, the Institute of
Personnel and Development and the
Chambers of Commerce as well as
individual companies and a number of
executive recruitment consultants.
The committee will continue to meet
each month and will be glad to receive
suggestions or comments from
interested parties; correspondence
may be directed to the careers adviser
or to any of the committee members
c/o the Law School.
Geraldine Hynes was appointed
Careers Advisor in February 1995.
She was admitted to the Roll of
Solicitors in 1993.
A Successful Reunion at the Law Society
A very successful twenty year reunion
was held at the Law Society on
25 February 1995. Up to seventy
solicitors and barristers attended the
reunion all of whom commenced their
j
legal career in 1973 and attended
lectures at UCD, Belfield for the
following four years. A special word of
| thanks to
Paul Romeril,
Consulting
Engineer who sponsored the string
quartet and to all the Law Society staff.
We all enjoyed a meal provided by
Peter Redmond
and his staff and the bar
| staff quenched our thirsts. Thanks also
to
Erin Barry
for organising the
booking. A most enjoyable evening
was had by all.
Donal O 'Kelly, Solicitor
Meeting
old friends
at the Law Society,
(left to right):
Helen Bowe O'Brien,
Peter
McDonnell,
Donal O'Kelly and Declan
Foley.
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