The Gazette 1974

had managed to reduce a valuation of £15,000 011 property to £10,000. This had not created a good U®' v pression, as the solicitor concerned had advised him t0 settle for £12,500. The President of the Law Society of Scotland em- phasised that they were now engaged in a wholesal advertising campaign to last one year which woul * cost £30,000 or the equivalent of £20 per member. Mr. T . C. G. O'Mahony, in stressing the motto^ "The Law is an asset", emphasised that urgent step 5 would have to be taken to combat the concerted effor that was being made, particularly by bureaucrats, t0 undermine professionalism. LEGAL EDUCAT I ON The President took the Chair on Sunday, March when Mr. Martin Edwards, President of the Society (London) then delivered an address on Leg a Education. In January of this year my Law Society had tl1 great pleasure of a visit of about a week from y olir Director-General, James Ivers. I think we gave him a ° insight into our business affairs and into our ligm c moments. One thing is certain we enjoyed his comp an )' and we felt that he enjoyed ours. One thing only I recall with feelings of chagr 111 ' He was sitting in my room one day when he said / 0 me that we were showing a complete lack of initiati v j in the field of Education and Training. I suppose ^ showed a somewhat baffled feeling, and maybe this the reason that today I have to stand here and sp e3 j to you on Legal Education—a subject in which understand you are interested. I have been concerned with this subject for the 10 years at the Law Society, also as a Governor 0 the Law Society's school, The College of Law, and as member of the Ormrod Committee, appointed in 1" | and which reported in March 1971. (The College 0 Law is an institution built up by the Law Society t0 train entrants to our profession and the Bar. It no comprises four colleges.) Now, there has been much discussion and debate 10 England on this subject for at least 150 years. I* lS unfortunately one of those subjects on which every°n e has views. Originally, the Inns of Court were tl1 teachers of law, but they ceased to fulfil this role a the time of the civil war in the reign of Charles I aI1 for a long time, until about the middle of the century, apprenticeship was the sole method of training for the law. Then examinations were introduced hence courses in law were formed. In England ty Universities took no part. It is as a result of m 1 history that we find the position which we have tod a í The Universities have, of course, now had Faculty of Law for some time but their degrees do not have status which they have in other countries. By fairly recent relaxation, Degree Courses, m a - qualify for exemptions in certain subjects covered 1,1 the Degree Course. Essentials for qualification The essentials for qualification are to serve a p fe scribed period of articles and to pass two examination 5 The Part I Examination, consisting of papers on : (1) Constitutional Law and the Legal System. (2) Contracts. (3) Torts. (4) Criminal law. 150

help they need. Nevertheless, the scheme has been widely advertised on Television and in the Press. Gut- out coupons were inserted in the newspapers, so that people could obtain the help of a solicitor if they did not already know one. With t he 'Central Office of Information and the Lord Chancellor's Department, we were very active in preparing the national advertis- ing campaign that launched the new scheme last year. In all the advertisements, solicitors were shown in a sympathetic and helpful role, and I am sure that this has helped to improve the profession's public image. We are most anxious to help the Irish Law Society. This catalogue of our work is not exhaustive, because we are continually developing new projects. Frequently we discuss these with members of the profession at special Workshops held in different parts of the country. Public Relations Workshops have even been held—at the expense of those who attended—in Majorca and in Malta. We have under consideration the launch of a television series and a film about solicitors. We are actively considering ways in which our relations with Members of Parliament can be im- proved—of great and fundamental importance. One adventurous local Law Society (Bolton) embarked on a campaign of press advertisements explaining the reason why people should seek a solicitor's advice. We helped with this campaign, and are currently in touch with several other local Societies who are considering similar local press advertising campaigns. I believe that it is also our task to look to the future. It is not enough to describe the work that solicitors are doing today; we should be taking steps to find out what changes the profession would like to see in its pattern of work, and base our activities accordingly. The world in which we work is not static. We must adapt ourselves to the rapidly changing times. The profession of law is not merely useful; it is essential. If solicitors did not exist, it would be necessary to invent them. Mr. Walter Beatty, in proposing a vote of thanks to Mr. Sanctuary, emphasised that it had been a refresh- ing paper and that he greatly appreciated the help that the Public Relations Committee had received from him in drawing up a scheme of pamphlets. The Dickensian image of musty lawyers who underpaid their employees was still prevalent today. Although company formation is a prerogative of the solicitor's profession, out of 52 companies formed recently, no less than 23 had not been formed by solicitors. If there were delays in Government offices, the solicitor should suggest to the client to visit the offices concerned personally. The Law Society were about to issue pamphlets, and then he hoped that the public would get a more favourable image of the profession. Mr. Maxwell Sweeney emphasised that, in order not to be subsequently misconstrued, solicitors should be careful what they said in public. A survey undertaken by the Law Society of Scotland had shown that the public thought many solicitors were arrogant. The essentials of the solicitor's profession should be taught as part of the Civics course in secondary schools. It was hoped that a Law week would be held in the spring of 1975 which would emphasise to the public the importance of the profession. Mr . Ignatius Houlihan (Ennis) criticised the un- necessary delays to which witnesses were often sub- jected in Court. Mr . Denis O'Riordan mentioned a case of a client who, by attending personally at the Valuation Office,