The Gazette 1995

GAZETTE

NOVEMBER 1995

A VISIT TO THE IRISH LAWYERS

IN LUXEMBOURG AND BRUSSELS

Continuedfrom page 310

Nial Fennelly

subsequently confides that,

while there was no difficulty on the

bench when the submissions were being

made in French or English, a switch to

German caused most of the judges to

reach for their translation headsets only

tofind that there was not a sufficient

number to go around!

All of the Irish legal staff gather to say

! farewell. After photos and speeches from

Judge Murray

and

Paddy Glynn,

depart reflecting on the substantial

amount that we have learned, on the

extraordinarily generous hospitality we

have enjoyed and on the very able team

i with which the Irish legal profession is

represented in Luxembourg.

Brussels

The pace of the train from Luxembourg

to Brussels is reminiscent of Paddy

Glynn's party piece 'The West Clare

Railway'. It seems to actually get slower

the closer we come to Brussels. When we

eventually arrive wefind the centre of

Brussels paralysed by marches and

demonstrations by the teachers and

students of Wallonia who are protesting

against cutbacks. Many streets are

cordoned off by riot police.

Accordingly, we arrive a little late for

our reception for the Irish lawyers in

Brussels. This reception is being hosted

by the Law Society though organised by

the Brussels Association of Irish

Lawyers (BAIL).

The reception is held in the office of

Maurice Byrne.

Maurice has relatively

recently done something probably unique

for an Irish solicitor by establishing the

law firmof Byrne, Devries, Feron &

Wouters. The firmoccupies spacious

premises on the very elegant Square

Vergote. I view Maurice as one of the

Brussels 'old guard', although he is

younger than I am, as he was already

well established when I arrived here in

1988 for my four-year Brussels posting

with A & L Goodbody.

It is a pleasure to meet up with him again

together with many other familiar faces

from that exciting period in Brussels.

Damian Collins,

secretary of BAIL, was

in the Brussels office of Clifford Chance

in 1988 but shortly afterwards he

established the McCann FitzGerald

Brussels office where he is still the

partner in charge.

Bernard O 'Connor

now a partner in the specialist European

law firmof Stanbrook & Hooper. He

informs me that he is shortly due to argue

a case in front of the European Court of

Justice. Not many Irish solicitors have

done this. What is even more impressive,

however, is that he will be making his

arguments in the 'language of the case'

which happens to be Italian!

Miriam Murphy,

the President of BAIL,

is a legal adviser to ITT World

Directories. She has to leave the

reception after an hour as she has an

early flight the following morning to

attend a business meeting in Lisbon.

UrsulaO'Dwyer

of Coopers & Lybrand

is also well-travelled. The last article I

saw from her in the European

Competition Law Review was based on

her experience setting up a company law

system in Kazakhstan. Barrister

Brian

Hartnett

is a Brussels-based partner in

the US law firmSquire, Saunders &

Dempsey.

Antoinette Long,

now with the

| Confederation of Food & Drink

Industries, served for a couple of years in

the early 1990s as thefirst editor of our

| Gazette

Eurlegal supplement.

I However, the majority of the 40-plus

Í Irish lawyers attending the reception are

not from the 'old guard' but represent a

'new wave' comprising solicitors and a

few barristers working for international

lawfirms or EU institutions together with

i some solicitors' apprentices, students and

| stagieres.

Most appear to be prospering in

| Brussels although there is talk of times

| being tough for lawyers here as

everywhere else.

Almost all Irish lawyers seeking

! opportunities in Brussels will sooner or

laterfind their way to the door of

John

Temple Lang.

John has dispensed kindly

and practical career advice to generations

of Irish lawyers arriving in the capital of

| Europe. I overhear him advising yet

! another new settler at the reception. He is

; the most distinguished Irish Euro lawyer

| of them all - it is over 30 years since he

wrote hisfirst book on the subject - with

decades of experience in the Legal

Service of the Commission rising to the

position of Director in DG IV, the

competition policy directorate general.

John would make an excellent judge of

the Court of Justice if an Irish government j

had the vision to appoint him.

Paddy Glynn

particularly enjoys catching

up with

Michael Collins,

formerly of his

own firmof Leahy & O'Sullivan in

Limerick and formerly also of the front

row in the President's beloved Old

Crescent rugby club. Crescent are riding

high at present and much talk of

Limerick rugby ensues.

The President's excellent speech is an

extempore reflection on the subject of the

Irish legal diaspora. In the travels of his

Presidential year he has encountered Irish

solicitors all over the globe. The purpose

of our visit is to show that the Law

Society of Ireland has not forgotten its

dozens of members in Brussels or its

hundreds of other members scattered else-

where around the world for that matter.

Damian Collins' speech makes it clear

that the BAIL members deeply and

genuinely appreciate thefirst ever visit

from the President and Director General

of the Law Society with its proof that the

Irish solicitors in Brussels are

remembered in Blackhall Place. Should

we put a light in the window?

Thursday, 26 October

Theflight back to Dublin is not until the

afternoon which allows time for a pre-

arranged courtesy call on European

Commissioner

Padraig Flynn

in his

office on the eighthfloor of the Breydel

Building. The Commissioner for Social

Affairs is in his usual ebullient form. As a

former Minister for Justice, he has a good

grasp of issues affecting the solicitors'

profession. Yes, he readily agrees, there

are far too many entering the profession

each year. No, however, he is unable to

comply with our tongue-in-cheek request

for a grant from the EU Social Fund for

this hard pressed profession!

We are joined at the meeting by

Karen

Banks,

a solicitor with many years'

experience in the Legal Service of the

Commission. She is now both the only

lawyer and the only female member of

Commissioner Flynn's

cabinet.

Karen, like the other Irish lawyers we

met generally in both Luxembourg and

Brussels, is working hard but enjoying

life in an immensely challenging

international legal environment. Their

success is something of which the Irish

legal profession can be justly proud.

Ken Murphy

315