Clever people these lawyers. Months ago they chose the theme for this year's Law Society annual conference - Lawyers in a Changing Ireland. Now they find themselves in the eye of a storm as 170 of them gather at Ashford Castle next weekend. Last year they went to Florence but under the presidency of Patrick O'Connor they have been persuaded to travel to his native Mayo. He is even laying on home-grown entertainment, of the legal type, in that the dancing bands are headed by two solicitors - John Reidy from Newbridge with The Moon and Sixpence and the Mick Walsh Band from Dublin. Mrs Justice Susan Denham has obviously caught the mood, both of the times and the music. The title of her paper is The Times They Are A-Changin, and she will be dealing with the court service, modern management, women, European law, drugs and her working group on a courts commission.
The other principal speaker is Minister for Justice John O'Donoghue, who will speak on the new courts service and the Solicitors Amendment Bill, which prohibits personal injury- type advertising in the wake of the army deafness claims. Most apt of all, however, is the working title for the talk by psychologist Maureen Gaffney. She will tell the legal eagles all about The Psychology of Managing Change Particularly in the Current Environment of Unpredictability. Should be useful.
