The Gazette 1995

GAZETTE

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1995

background added to a good working knowledge of constitutional law; membership of the European Union; and a well looked upon cultural heritage. I would urge the Irish legal professions, therefore, to take steps to promote the participation of Irish lawyers in this new legal age. At home, I would suggest there should be a merging of the professions and the opening of the courts to non-lawyers. This liberalisation of the last bastion of the legal closed shop would encourage the profession to innovate. It would send a signal to the other professions and other legal professionals in the EU and worldwide that the profession in Ireland is dynamic and innovative. In my view, clients will continue to seek advice from Solicitors and Barristers in conducting Court cases

and very few clients will chose non- lawyers to represent them. Thus the change would have a strong impact without causing much practical impact to the livelihood of individual practitioners. Barristers have not lost out to Solicitors since the latter were granted the right of audience before all Irish courts and it is unlikely that the need for court specialisation would diminish in a unified profession. Abroad I would suggest that the Government, through the various agencies that support Ireland as a financial and industrial location, promote the use of Irish legal services in Europe and globally. This would be better facilitated through a merged profession. Ireland could become a centre for legal research and provide backup to the larger firms in expensive cities such as London and

New York. As demand for services in Ireland begins to flow, high value added skills would begin to accumulate here. Peripherality is not a problem if you are recognised as having the necessary skill. The pool of legal skills in Ireland is vast. It is under utilised. The chance to exercise the rights that membership of the Union gives Irish lawyers should be grabbed, not dreamed about. These comments arise from a review of the law on the freedom for Irish lawyers to provide services in the EU. They were made at a recent conference on "New Opportunities for Lawyers", sponsored by I.C.E.L. and held in Dublin on 28 May, 1994.

*Bernard O'Connor is a Solicitor

with

Stanbrook

and Hooper,

European

Community Lawyers,

Brussels.

•

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