Issue No. 130 December 2001 THE RIT JOURNAL OFW THE LAW SOCIETY OF NORTHERN IRELAND New President of the Law Society Alan Hewitt is the new President of of the Society and the Society. He is the senior partner the profession at in L'Estrange & Brett. Educated at home and abroad. the Royal Belfast Academical He has worked Institution, Queen's University, Belfast tirelessly for our (LL.B.) and the University of Michigan benefit on a great (LL.M.) he was admitted as a solicitor many matters, not in 1967. least in leading several delegations He is married to Ruth, also a Queen's to Stormont, where law graduate. They have three the real advantages children, Jonathan (a recent chairman to the profession of of the NIYSA), Debbie, an English- a local assembly are qualified solicitor who now works in now becoming apparent. We owe Dublin in the personnel field, and that I was too busy, and that the Law him a very considerable debt of Rachel, a research psychologist who Society was not really relevant to my gratitude. John in turn followed such works in London. day to day existence. However, distinguished presidents as John eventually I was more or less shamed Alan was elected to the Council of Meehan and Catherine Dixon and into joining the Council and I quickly the Society in 1991 and has been going back a little further, it gives me found that there was an enormous Chairman of the Professional particular pleasure that Henry Pierce amount of very relevant work being Indemnity Insurance, Professional is with us this evening. Henry was carried out by a very hard working Conduct and Financial Services President of the Society in 1970. He bunch of people. We have some 17 Committees. He has represented the was my master when I started out as committees, nearly all of them Society on the Council of the Society an apprentice many years ago and dealing with issues which very for Computers and Law and has later was brave enough to take me directly concern the day to day work served on the Law Reform Advisory into partnership. He exemplified the of our members. We are called upon Committee for Northern Ireland since very highest standards of with increasing frequency to respond 1997. professionalism, integrity and client to proposals from Westminster, care, and without that example my Stormont, the Court Service and At the Society's Annual Dinner on 5th own professional career would have elsewhere which would affect December he said been the poorer. I can tell you that it materially the workings of civil and "I am proud and honoured to be your is with considerable trepidation that I criminal justice, the interests of our President for the coming year, for at try to follow such people as clients and the structure and least four reasons: First, I follow a President. remuneration of the profession. All line of outstanding Presidents. May I Secondly, I know that I will have of this is dealt with by Council take this opportunity of around me a Council and staff of the members who are busy practising congratulating my good friend John highest calibre. I came to the Law solicitors but who freely give up their Neill on a great year in which he has Society Council fairly late in my time to the Society. I can walk from upheld and enhanced the reputation career. For years I persuaded myself my office to Law Society House in five CONTENTS European Study Trip . p3 Practice Advisory Service. p7 Longside Courts. p14 Children (NI) Order 1965 . p6 Law Society Appointment. p8 Risk Management . p16 December 2001 2 minutes, which is probably a mixed the doctrine of separation of powers, Not that we can't enjoy ourselves, blessing, but many of my colleagues and it can apparently see nothing and I would like at this point to put on Council travel frequently from, wrong with reshaping the House of in a plug for the Society's conference among other places, Derry, Lords so that it is full of its own next May. As some of you will know, Enniskillen, Newry, Portadown, appointees, or with abandoning what we were asked recently by the Ballymena and Ballymoney. They are, Mr. Blunkett calls "airy, fairy civil Scottish Law Society if we would of course, given enormous support by liberties". It quite likes the concept consider having a joint conference our Chief Executive, John Bailie, of uniformity across the UK when, for with them in 2002, instead of each without whose untiring and selfless example, trying to introduce a Society holding a separate conference work the Society would grind to a flawed system of compensation of and we accepted that proposal with halt and by our excellent professional criminal injuries, but rather curiously great pleasure. The conference will and administrative staff. is not so keen on uniformity when it be held at a new hotel and leisure comes to our remuneration. Above complex known as St. Andrew's Bay, Thirdly, I believe that the Society all, principles we all used to think which is situate on a wonderful site represents a profession of which we were fundamental, such as the about 2 miles outside St. Andrew's. I can all be justifiably proud. Now, independence of the profession, went to see it a couple of weeks ago there's a limit to what any President client confidentiality and the and can report that it is absolutely can achieve in twelve months and I avoidance of conflict of interest are first-class - a good hotel, good food, don't think that in the next year we increasingly ignored. Do these things good leisure facilities, great views will be able to put an end entirely to still matter? If they do, we have a and not least, a very good new golf jokes about lawyers. We all suffer battle on our hands to preserve course. There will be an array of them with as much dignity as we can them. interesting seminars, with an muster. However, we can take some opportunity, for those of you who comfort in the fact that, odd as it is, I am quite confident that we can will need to next year, to pick up CPD while the general public may have a meet most of the external challenges. points, a gala dinner dance on the jaundiced view of lawyers as a whole, Without being complacent, the courts first night, a Celtic hooley on the all the surveys show that most people and the conveyancing system cannot second night and much else. What are very satisfied with the service readily work without us. more need I say, except book early. they receive from their own solicitor. It is the danger from within which There will be a flyer about it very My own unofficial and wholly gives me more concern - that very soon, I hope in the next issue of "The unreliable survey shows that with small minority of solicitors which Writ" solicitors the converse is true: they cannot be bothered to adopt normal approve of clients as a general Finally, and to come to our next good practice, such as keeping a concept, it's just actual clients they toast, I am proud to be the President diary of key dates or adhering to sometimes have problems with. of a Society which includes so many Home Charter regulations, and we However, it's not surprising that most fine young lawyers. Fairly obviously I know what that has done to our PI people in Northern Ireland are very am not a young lawyer, in fact I am premiums, who undermine the satisfied with their solicitor. We have so old as to be the father of a past profitability of the profession by a network of small firms which Chairman of the NIYSA, but both in charging fees which cannot possibly provide the full range of legal my own firm and when dealing with give a fair return or who have some services in a very professional and other firms I continually come across difficulty in understanding that being cost-effective way. We also have young lawyers of the highest quality a member of this profession brings firms large and small which in their and integrity and that as much as with it that old-fashioned concept of own particular areas of expertise can anything else gives me great duties. That is an underused work in offer a service at least as good as can confidence in the future of the today's rights culture. I sometimes be found in London or anywhere profession. This year's crop is as wonder if the Belfast Agreement else. good as any and you will hear in a might not profitably have included few moments from one of them, During the year ahead, I know that provision for a Bill of Duties as well Patrick McGrath, who just a few we shall have to face up to many as a Bill of Rights. A few of us here months ago, with Anita Hanna, won challenges from without. Apart from are lucky enough to have passed the Louis M. Brown Client some of the matters I've already through the Queen's law faculty Counselling competition against stiff mentioned, such as the proposed when the late James Montrose was international opposition. reform of the civil and criminal Dean. You will perhaps remember Congratulations to Paddy and Anita justice systems and the threat of a how he used to quote Robert Frost: and to all of their colleagues who recession, now exacerbated by the "The woods are lovely, dark and deep have joined our ranks this year.