The Gazette 1991

DECEMBER 1991

GAZETTE

From the Director General Some Reflections on Atlanta and Brussels 1991

It is probably fair to say that there is a perception amongst the ordinary members of most organi- sations t hat a t t endance at international conferences by those who are privileged enough to hold positions such as mine are, in the main, of the 'junket' variety and are part and parcel of the perks of office. This is an understandable perception. Which of us, for ex- ample, has not been sceptical of reports of droves of local gove r nment councillors and officials from rural parts of Ireland heading off to conferences on urban planning issues in exotic parts of the world. Of course, perception can sometimes be wide of the mark. To my mind, attendance at some international conferences is a sine qua non of keeping abreast of international developments. Selectivity is, of course, impo r t an t. It is also important that, when one is present at a conference, one attends at least some of the more important business sessions. This year I did not go to Atlanta where the American Bar Associa- tion had its Annual Conference though the Law Society of Ireland was represented there. I did, however, attend the English Law Society Conference in Brussels in October. Atlanta You might think it odd that I am writing about a conference that I did not attend. The reason for this is that this year's ABA Conference created something of a stir. The Law Society of Ireland's principal interest was in promoting, with American lawyers, the use of Irish law firms as a bridge to Europe and, in t h is respect, they were competing with their English Law Society colleagues (reports indicate that the Irish Law Society efforts were a huge success). But the main stir was caused by a very trench-

defences". On the issue of punitive damaged, he referred to a report of a 1987 study of 24,000 jury trials in Illinois which showed that the average punitive damages award shot up from $43,000 in 1969 to $729,000 in 1984 - a jump of 1,500%. On this topic, Mr. Quayle said that " w h a t began as a sanction only for the most repre- hensible conduct has now become almost routine". Clearly, from reports that I have read, the ABA's President Jack Curtin, was not amused, particularly at Quayle's rhetorical question about whether America really needed 70% of the world's lawyers. Curtin responded by saying that anyone who believed a better day would dawn when lawyers were eliminated bore the burden of explaining who would take their place. "Who will protect the poor, the injured, the victims of negligence, the victims of racial discrimination and the victims of racial violence", he asked. The lessons that I would draw from the current situation that obtains in relation to litigation in the United States, as outlined by Vice Presi- dent Quayle, is that the Americans are in the mess they are in primarily because of two factors. The first is the charging by American lawyers of contingency fees which gives them a stake in the action and, undoubtedly, contributes towards the proliferation of litigation. The second, in my personal view, is that, over the years, in most of the US States there has been uncon- trolled access to the legal profes- sion resulting in the situation, highlighted by Vice President Quayle, where America now has 70% of the world's population of lawyers. Brussels President's Keynote Address The English Law Society's Con- ference took place in Brussels from 16-20 October. The new President, 397

Noel Ryan ant attack on the American legal profession made by U.S. Vice President, Dan Quayle. Quayle set the cat among the pigeons and ruffled a few feathers (I) by accusing the profession of being partly responsible for what he described as the excessive litigation in America which was, he said, blunting the competitive edge of the American economy. There were 18 million civil actions in 1989 with US individuals and businesses spending more than $80 billion on direct litigation costs and higher insurance premiums. In his address, he outlined pro- posals for major reforms of the US civil justice system, including the introduction of a rule under which costs would follow the event, as in this jurisdiction and the UK. Vice President Quayle's proposals emanated f r om a report put forward by a special working group of the US Government's 'Council on Competitiveness'. In addition to the introduction of the loser pay rule he said that " t he Government were considering strict limits on punitive damages, pre trial dis- covery and use of expert evidence". On the loser pay rule, Vice President Quayle said that "the rule was grounded in fairness and was applied in virtually every other western country besides the USA. There is no doubt it weeds out a lot of frivolous claims and specious