The Gazette 1988

MARCH 1988

GAZETTE

The cost of the Conference has sometimes been criticised. This year there is a special inclusive price of £140 per person covering three nights and t wo days in Jury's Hotel, Cork, w i t h all meals included. This is less than the price for last year's Conference. The facilities at Jury's Hotel include a heated indoor/outdoor swimming pool wi th whirlpool, saunas, a gymnasium and squash court. In add i t i on t h r o u gh t he kind sponsorship of the Bank of Ireland any member who is less than ten years admitted to practice will have half the cost of his wife's inclusive price subsidised by the Bank. This is a unique and generous offer by the Bank to aid the younger members of the profession. I am therefore making a direct appeal to the members for support for the Conference. As I have said before it is your Society, and your profession and your Conference. Not only do I suggest that you should support it, I am saying very strongly that you must support it. I address this recommendation particularly to our members from Munster. I am confident that w i th the help and support of the organisers, this will be not only a most enjoyable weekend but a weekend when you can learn in a way which will beneficially improve your practice and yourself. I look forward to meeting you personally in Cork.

Law Society Annual Conference, Cork, 5 - 8 May, 1988

of t he o f f i ce but also its profitability. I hope in the next edition of the Gazette that he will be giving members an outline on how he will be approaching his subject (and how important he views the topic). On Saturday, the Half Yearly Meeting will take place. At the moment I have no notice of any resolution. Assuming that none are forthcoming it is proposed to hold a workshop on "Litigation — The Future". This is very topical in that by now everybody is aware of the changes which are proposed for the abolition of juries. In the workshop we hope to obtain views not only f r om solicitors and barristers working in Ireland as to the practical realities which this will bring to our profession, but also to ob t a in v i ews f r om v i s i t i ng Presidents as to how the litigation scenario has changed in their country and where they see the trends for the future. This will cover such areas as c o n t i n g e n cy fees, l i t i ga t i on procedures and how the courts will tackle the changes which are undoubtedly coming. For anybody i n t e r es t ed in l i t i ga t i on t h is discussion is a MUST for your diary. Enclosed w i th this Gazette you will find the proposed Conference programme. You will see that there are numerous alternative social events which you and your spouse can enjoy.

The Conference has come around again. To a lot of our members, this is not a statement wh i ch up to this had made them reach for their diaries and write in the dates of the Conference as an event which they must attend. For one reason or another the Annual Con f e r en ce has not attracted the attention which it should over the past number of years. We now have almost 4 , 000 members of the Society. Should it not be a feasible proposition to get 2 0 0 / 3 00 of these to come to the Conference if not for the entire of the event, then at least for some of the lectures or social functions? We have had recent experience that when a controversial item arises on the Agenda, the Society memb e rs wa k en f r om t he ir slumbers and become vociferous and take great interest in the subject. This was clearly evidenced by the attendance at the Annual General Meeting in November 1986 when the issues of Advertising and Professional Indemnity were on the Agenda. This year the Public Relations Comm i t t ee i nv i t ed Mess r s. Loosemore and Parsons to visit Ireland. As members will be aware they gave a number of lectures w h i c h c r ea t ed an e n o rmo us amount of interest and indeed e x c i t eme nt amo n g st t he profession. In the course of these lectures, they indicated the need for change on the part of the members in their approach to practice as we near the 21st century. The Conference this year which is being held in Jury's Hotel, Cork from 5 t h - 8 t h May, is taking up the same theme. As the highlight of the programme, I am pleased to be able to report that Mr. David Andrews of the David Andrews Partnership Limited who are Management and Training Consultants to the Legal Profession in London, has agreed to address the Conference on Friday morning on "Ma k i ng the Law Office Wo r k ". In the afternoon he will speak on "Practice Develop- men t ". David Andrews will be dealing w i th the practical problems w h i c h f ace s o l i c i t o rs in t he everyday working of their offices with suggested changes which will improve not only the management

Thomas D. Shaw President

Jury's Hotel, Cork

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