Message from the President
Progress Aplenty
T
his summer edition of the Parchment is coming to you hot on the (high) heels of our Midsummer gala dinner and Law Book Awards and oh what a night. The Conrad’s Art Deco dining room was filled to capacity with the great and the good decked out in their finery and the party kept going until the break of day! The success of the night is due to the great efforts of your council. In addition, my thanks to our special guest, His Honour, Justice Peter Kelly; past president Keith Walsh for all his work on the Law Book Awards and of course, to Joan Doran for organising those gorgeous goody bags. In this edition of the Parchment we celebrate the contribution of women to the legal profession. In 2014 we became the first county in the world where the numbers of female solicitors exceed male solicitors. On 22nd June 2017, former Chief State Solicitor, Eileen Creedon, swore her declaration in the Supreme Court, becoming the first female solicitor appointed to the High Court. I for one, hope this appointment marks an important milestone, encouraging other female solicitors to aim for the highest positions in the legal profession. To see what the DSBA could do to promote equality in the profession, in January this year, I met with the Irish Women’s Lawyers’ Association to assist in updating the Women in Justice survey. The survey results were launched at our Be Bold for Change symposium, held in collaboration with the IWLA and Skillnets. You will see Professor Irene Lynch Fannon’s article pages 40-42 of this issue. A key development in the last number of months has been the issuing of High Court Practice Direction 71 by the Honourable Mr Justice Peter Kelly, President of the High Court, which came into effect on 24th April 2017. The Practice Direction followed from representations made by me on your behalf concerning the impact on our members and their employees arising out of the long delays in the taxation of costs. On behalf of our members I want to thank President Kelly for issuing this Practice Direction. It means that a reasonable portion of legal costs can be recovered almost immediately after a cost order is made. Other highlights this quarter include the work of the Legal Services Taskforce on our submission to the Authority recommending the implementation of limited liability partnerships at the earliest opportunity and the launch of the updated DSBA Residential Tenancies Agreement. Many
thanks to Marissa O’Keeffe and Ethna Ryan of the Property Law Committee along with their Chair, Ronan MacLoughlin for the extraordinary efforts they have put in on behalf of our members in updating the precedent. In other news, on 30th June we held the first of, I hope many, the John Buckley Memorial cup cricket matches, between the DSBA and the Bar Council of Ireland. And the annual conference to Santiago is now fully booked – we are looking for further rooms to accommodate those on the waiting list. It is with great sadness that I write of the sudden and tragic death of Danielle Kerins, a valued and vibrant member of our Family Law Committee.
Danielle was only 30 years of age. She was a great contributor to our committee and to the profession and she had a great future ahead. My thoughts are with her fiancé, Mark Raleigh; her parents Mark and Jackie; her bother David and all her friends and colleagues in the profession and to her fellow members of the Family Law Committee who are devastated by her loss. Finally, as ever members, please do not hesitate to contact me at any time, should you have any issues which the DSBA can progress on your behalf. I am contactable at my office, 01-6779097 or at my email address: ainehynes@stjohnsolicitors.ie. Aine Hynes, DSBA President
4 the Parchment
004_Parchment_Summer_2017.indd 4
04/07/2017 4:00 p.m.