The Gazette 1988

GAZETTE

MAY 1988

From the President . . .

In order to be able to answer these queries the solicitor must be up to date with the legislation and study the relevant provisions. This means, in effect, going back to school. The Society must urgently consider the appropriate vehicle to provide such information to the practitioner. The practitioner, for his part, must improve his knowledge so as to be able to provide the best advice for his client. In this way, we will be able to show to our clients that the personal approach with the best of information and advice is a far superior way of doing business than leaving it to a nameless person, who is not aware of any personal circumstances, working for one of the f i nanc i al supermarkets. The future is all about giving a good service. Q A . ^U CW j T HOMAS D. SHAW President

no demand for such a revolutionary change and that it is not in the public interest. It is interesting to note that other institutions have expressed oppos i t i on to the proposal and t hat t he Lord Chancellor in England has not seen fit to bring in similar sections of English legislation because he is not satisfied that the public interest would be adequately protected. At the same time, we must consider the service which is being currently given to the public and examine whether this can be improved or not. In my view, it can. I believe that we must move away from the concept of merely transferring property and move into the realm of being advisers to the client. Has he accepted the right type of mortgage? What is the best Insurance Policy to take out for the transaction? What is his tax position as far as mortgage relief is concerned?

The proposals of the Minister for the Environment to permit Building Societies and other Financial I ns t i t u t i ons to engage in conveyancing has brought a lot of controversy to the profession in recent weeks. Let me say at the outset that the Council are resolutely against the proposal on the basis that there is

EUROPEAN LAWYERS UNION CONGRESS IN RHODES JUNE 1988 The European Lawyers Union, the recently established organisation of practising Lawyers from the Member States of the EEC, is holding its s e c o nd Annual Cong r e ss on the Greek island of Rh o d es from Thursday 16th to Saturday 18th J une 1 9 8 8. The title of the working pr og r amme (three half-day sessions) is: "Undertakings in the EEC Present Status and Perspectives for 1992" In this general context there will be a wide range of topics including competition law, financial and taxation aspects of undertakings, agricultural undertakings, social aspects of undertakings, intellectual property rights, the Single European Act etc. The speakers will include J ud g es of the Court of Justice, officials of the EEC Commi s s i on and private lawyers. The social activities should also be worth the trip. Membe rs and n o n -memb e rs alike are very we l c ome. For further information (or information generally on the organisation) p l e a se contact as s o on as possible: GERALD MOLONEY, G. J. Mo l on ey & Company, Solicitors, 2 7 / 2 9 Washington Street, Cork. Telephone: 0 2 1 / 2 7 5 2 6 1 Fax: 0 2 1 / 2 7 1 5 8 6

93