The Gazette 1995

GAZKTTKD

MBER1995

Perhaps many of the more recent public

family rows brought to the door of the

Court might have been avoided if the

protagonists had taken the trouble to

read this book.

Elma Lynch

The Law Society's Hall - An

Architectural History

1823-1995

by Finch Allibone and Lynn Quiney.

Published by the Law Society of

England and Wales.

If one likes old buildings and halls and

their history, one cannot but be

impressed by the architectural history

of the Law Society's Hall by

Einch

Allibone

who is curator of the Royal

Institute of British Architects and

Lynn

Quiney

who is the Librarian of the

Law Society. It is a history of the

actual building which now houses the

Law Society and its various

developments and alterations since it

was first commenced.

The research which obviously went

into the preparation of this history is

admirable and impressive. It is quite

obvious from reading this volume that

there was a wealth of archival material

available as plans and costings and

sketches are illustrated in the history.

In 1823 a committee placed

| advertisements inviting designs from

! architects for the original building and

Lewis Vullimny

was declared the

winner and was given the commission

of the first part of the Law Society

Building.

Lewis Vullimny

remained as

the Law Society's architect to

implement his design for many years

thereafter. There were other architects

who assisted the Law Society in the

development after Vullimny's death

and they in their own way adapted and

developed the building.

These additions and adaptations since

1823 were necessary to accommodate

the increasing functions and numbers

in the profession which are extensively

described in the history. One must

agree with a particular sentence in the

history "the contrast between the

elegant simplicity of the Vullimny's

and Holden's designs and the cluttered

hotel style of the decor shocks the

architecturally correct observer".

While I have not personally visited the

building and my only function is to

review the publication, I must admit to

being somewhat shocked.

Elma Lynch

A Brief History of the Law

Society

by David Sugarman. Published by The

Law Society of England and Wales

: The Law Society of England and Wales

celebrated 150 years of its existence

this year on the 26th of February.

| It was a special anniversary for the Law

Society as 150 years before then the

Society surrendered its first Royal

! Charter and in its place the Crown

granted a new Charter which

, constituted the foundation document of j

: the Society. In order to celebrate this,

| the Law Society has published a brief

history under the authorship of

David

Sugarman

who is a Professor of Law at

Lancaster University.

It is a short history of the development

of the solicitors' profession in

England since the 1550s to the

present day and the development of the i

Society and its functions. When one

reads it, one cannot but have

admiration for the bravery and foresight

of the original promoters of the Law

Society and indeed its history also

mirrors a social history of the

developments both in England and

Ireland during that period. The more

recent developments are particularly

interesting and while it is not an in-

depth study, it is certainly a bird's eye

view of history.

Its crowing glory in my view is the

photograph of Mr Justice Sachs who

practised as a solicitor in Manchester

and became the first person to be

appointed a High Court Judge who

had not previously qualified as a

barrister.

Elma Lynch

Negligence & the Teacher

By Oliver Mahon B.L. Published by

the Ennis Teachers' Centre,

1995;

softback,

100 pp. IR£5.00.

Although this book is primarily intended

as a guide to teachers and those involved

with the supervision and organisation of

groups of children, the book is also of

immense use to legal practitioners dealing

with cases of schools' negligence.

Thefirst chapter in this book contains a

very lucid explanation of the funda-

mentals of the law of negligence. This is

followed by a more detailed chapter

which considers cases involving schools

negligence actions. From a presentational

point of view this chapter deserves

especial praise. The author uses the

typical school day as a scheme within

which to categorise the various incidences

of negligence evident from the case law.

The third chapter looks at the relevance to

schools of the

Safety Health & Welfare at

Work Act 1989

and this is followed by

what is modestly described as a "note" on

Insurance. Thefifth andfinal chapter

contains practical suggestions for a "suit-

proof' school. A perusal of this chapter

alone would provide an invaluable

education for any solicitor faced with a

request from teachers or those charged

with the supervision of children for

professional advice on how to avoid

negligence actions. In the hallowed spot

on the classroom wall formerly reserved

for the 1916 Proclamation there should

now hang a framed and abridged version

of this chapter!

Negligence and the Teacher

is an

extremely useful addition to the library of

any solicitor dealing with cases of schools

negligence whether on the plaintiff or

defence side. As a publication whose

style is not cramped by academic

pretension it is to be particularly

welcomed as, hopefully, thefirst in a

series of specialist texts on the practical

but nonetheless fascinating topic of the

legal dimension of education.

Donncha O 'Connell

"Negligence & The Teacher"

Oliver Mahon B.L.

I Available from The Ennis Teachers' Centre

Price £5.85/Copy Inc. Postage

Tel: 065 / 21161 Fax: 065 / 42930

E-Mail:

kkennedy@iol.ie

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