The Gazette 1988

GAZETTE

DECEMBER 1988

Younger Members News

SYS Au t umn Semi nar Once again the Society of Young Solicitors (SYS) may be credited w i th a superb Au t umn Seminar which took place between the 4 t h - 6 t h of November last at Hotel Kilkenny and attracted a record attendance of over 300 people. The seminar was a joint seminar w i th the Bar. On Saturday morning Mr. Vivion Gill imparted a most compre- hensive lecture on the Jurisdiction of Courts and Enforcement of Judgements (European Commun- ities) Act 1988, a subject that we are all beginning to hear more about. (A copy of the lecture is available from Norman Spendlove at the " Go od Value" price of £6.00.) Mr. Gill was followed by an open forum discussion between the Bar and Solicitors, presided over by a prestigious panel comprising Mr. Thomas Shaw, Mrs. Mary Collins, Solr., Mr. Peter Shanley, S.C., Mr. Colm Allen, B.L., and chaired by the Attorney General, Mr. John Murray, S.C. The discussion covered a wide range of topics such as fusion of the professions, the " Ch amb e r s" system, the independance of the t wo education systems and the a r gumen ts in favour of their

amalgamation. The debate was a rather lively one and there was no shortage of speakers from the floor. After lunch those who were interested attended a very helpful l ec t u re and q u e s t i o n / a n swer session w i th Mr. Brian Forrester of the Bank of Ireland. Mr. Forrester dealt w i th a substantial number of issues relating to the financing of a so l i c i t o rs p r ac t i ce and t he i nc r eas i ng number of bank p r odu c ts available wh i ch are relevant to a solicitors or barristers practice. On a lighter note, the "organised" social activities began on Saturday afternoon w i th a Treasure Hunt in or about a number of public houses within a ten-mile radius of Kilkenny City, organised by Brian O'Connor. The previous evening at Hotel Kilkenny is also wo r t hy of a mention as many confused night- porters in the hotel wandered around w i th trays of alcoholic beverage destined for the occu- pants of various hotel rooms whose i d e n t i ty c h a n g ed a f t er each round!!! As always, the Saturday evening banquet was an enormous success w i th live music until 2.00a.m. and " o t h e r " music until 4 . 00a .m.

approximately. The banquet was enjoyed by all and the guests who a t t e n d ed we re t he A t t o r n ey General and Mrs. Murray; Mr. Jim Cody and Mr. Brian Desmond, both of the Bank of Ireland; Mr. and Mrs. John Lanigan; Mr. Michael V. O'Mahony; Mr. Kevin Feeney, B.L., and Mr. Colm Allen, B.L. Sunday morning produced a very lively and well attended session on Defamation presided over by a panel of well-known figures in this area, namely Vincent Browne, Michael V. O'Mahony, Conor Brady, Niall Fennelly, S.C. and chaired by Charles Meenan, B.L. Subjects covered included an analysis of the US law of defamation and a c omp a r i s on w i t h t he Irish framework, a review of the home system and the ways in wh i ch it could be improved w i t h in the existing legal framework. All in all, many congratulations to the SYS and the Bar, in particular Terence McCrann, Chairman of the SYS and Charles Meenan, B.L. The Seminar was sponsored by the Bank of Ireland (generously!) and Butterworths. The next SYS Seminar will take place in Limerick from the 21st to the 23rd of April next - take note! •

(Left to right): Terence McC r a n n, SYS , B r i an Fo r r e s t er ( g u e st speake r) Ma r k e t i ng Ma n a g e r, Ba nk of I r e l and a nd Cha r l es Me e n a n, Ba r r i s t e r.

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