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GAZETTE
NOVEMBER 1995
Memories of 50 Years in Practice
Approaching my 50th year as a
solicitor, I would like to refer to a few
memorable facts which occurred
during my early years in practice, to
indicate how styles and approaches in
the 4 0 ' s and 5 0 ' s differed from
approaches and styles as we approach
the 21st century.
Shortly after commencing to practice,
I was called to the offices o f M/s
French and French of 7, St. Stephen's
Green, Dublin, where the principal
was Captain English, and ex-British
Army Officer, and a solicitor.
I was very friendly with him and he
decided to give me some initial
guidance.
Accordingly, in his very polished
Oxford accent he said - "Stanley,
remember when you write letters,
when you speak to people, always
remember fo be a gentleman, for you
have now entered a "genteel"
profession".
S ome years later, it must have been in
the 5 0 ' s, a lady came to see me. After
being my client for some time, she
commented to me on one occasion,
"Mr. Siev one of the most important
relationships between a solicitor and a
client is the art o f conversation. It is
most important that a solicitor should
always "converse with a client", never
"converse to a client". I have noticed
you allow me to talk to you and you
talk directly to me, if only all solicitors
would do that".
The comment was most interesting.
As my practice increased in
complexity, it became necessary at
times to instruct Senior Counsel, the
equivalent of KC or QC in England.
When the British left Ireland in 1921,
i no further KC ' s or QC ' s were
j
appointed, but there were still some
practising barristers in Ireland who
| retained their British titles, having
' acquired them in pre-1921 days. One
such man was
Charles Campbell,
who
was a brilliant KC. He must have been
in his middle or late sixties when I
began to instruct him. A "gentleman"
to the tips of his fingernails, he had an
immense practice, but always, when
perusing papers and pleadings in
particular he would not hesitate to
spend time, one might say, a waste of
time, but I now say, the mark of
perfection; checking, to cross the t's
and dot the i's, inserting commas,
semis and other punctuation marks. I
used to marvel at his tranquillity, the
respect he received from all, and his
ease and gentility in Court and yet
devastatingly precise in his soft voice,
metaphorically knifing witnesses
under his cross-examinations. I was so
sad when more than 25 years ago, he
suddenly started to age, an old man in
his eighties, and he died. Not one case
did I lose under his expert advice,
which I always accepted and
respected.
One o f my earliest cases in which I
was opposed by another young
solicitor called
Rory O'Connor,
about
my age, took place before Justice
O'Flynn, of the Dublin District Court.
I cannot now recollect what the case
was about, but Rory and I went for
each other "hammer and tongs".
Suddenly, the Justice announced he
was going to retire to his Chambers for
about ten minutes. He did so and a few
minutes later his clerk came over to
the table and said "the Justice wishes
to see you both in his Chambers". So
we went there and in no uncertain
terms he told us that solicitors have a
duty to contest their client's causes in
Court to the best of their " ob j e c t i v e"
abilities, but there is no place for
"subjective" confrontations in the legal
profession. "Now return to Court and
conduct your cases as true professional
gentlemen". Which we did and fought
hard for our respective clients and we
remained friends ever since.
One final word concerning another
Solicitor. His name was
Archibald
Clarke,
who was a very well known
Dublin solicitor. He was already a
very elderly man when I qualified. He
always attended Court in full formal
morning dress, even to his shiny tall
hat.
He had a keen sense of humour and
was very popular among his
colleagues. On his death, as far as I
can recollect in 1947, an era
terminated in Irisji legal history.
Before it is too late, when many of the
stories will be forgotten, if my
colleagues would care to send to me
any anecdotes, stories, events etc. an
attempt could be made to put them in
book form and have a book published.
Up to the late forties, lawyers had
time, the profession was not so
materialistic. Pressures were non-
existent and practices were conducted
very easily, yet seldom delayed.
Maybe my age group no longer fits in
and it is soon time to "pass on".
Stanley Siev
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