International legal conference a great success

Alan Kelly, TD, Minister for State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, pictured at the inaugural US/Ireland Legal Symposium held in Knockranny House Hotel, Westport, with Joseph Kelly junior, President of the Brehon Law Society.?Pic: Michael McLaughlin

International legal conference a great success


Áine Ryan

AN inaugural symposium on critical legal issues for Irish and US companies was held in Westport last week and addressed by Taoiseach Enda Kenny. The three-day symposium, organised by the Brehon Law Society of Philadelphia, was attended by legal and business people from both the US and Ireland.
At a gala dinner in the Knockranny House Hotel on Thursday night last, Mr Kenny said he was ‘positive and confident about Ireland’s recovery because away from the fiscal and banking crises, the Irish are well-educated, resilient and love to work’.
“US companies when making a location decision take into account a multitude of factors.  They look for a location with talent and technology backed up by a strong track record and a competitive tax environment. Ireland has proven to be such a location. New and already established multinationals continue to invest and expand their operations making Ireland the destination of choice for mobile investment projects from the world’s best companies.”  He also noted that nearly nearly ‘90,000 people are employed by the 491 US companies in Ireland’.
Earlier, the efficiency of the Commercial Court in Ireland was praised by US Chief Justice, the Hon Maureen O’Connor, of the Supreme Court of Ohio. She told delegates the commercial courts in Ohio had been very successful in accommodating and expediting cases but that the Irish record surpassed it in efficiency.
“We pale in significance in comparison to the Irish system which has an average of 21 weeks for turning round a case,” said the Hon Maureen O’Connor.
She was on a panel, with Mr Justice Peter Kelly, of the Commercial Court, which compared US and Irish handling of commercial litigation and its ramifications for national and international business.
Mr Justice Peter Kelly said he was ‘quite proud’ that the average Commercial Court case ‘from entry to conclusion was 21 weeks’.
He compared this to a recent personal injury case, over which he presided, which had begun in 2003. He observed that lawyers making their debuts in the Commercial Court  often ‘got a little culture shock’ at how quickly things got done but they also soon discovered “it was good for cash flow.”
Justice Kelly also outlined the history of the modern Irish courts system and the establishment of the Commercial Court in 2004.
Citing the key principles of the court he said: “Issues of law and fact should as far as possible be narrowed down in advance of trial, and cases should be progressed in a manner which is ‘just, expeditious and likely to minimize costs’.”
Panelist, Kieran Cowhey, of Dublin law firm, Dillon Eustace, said Mr Justice Kelly had ensured ‘procedures were way more transparent’, affording clients a sense of order.
The subject of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) was  debated at a later session by a panel,  which included former Attorney General, Paul Gallagher SC.
He said ‘the focus and objective of business people was to find efficient and cost-effective ways to resolving disputes’. Citing Article 29 of the 1937 Constitution, Mr Gallagher observed that Ireland had a long association with arbitration and that the institution of Statutory Instruments in 2010 regarding arbitration was a very important development.
The symposium concluded on Friday with a session on the subject of: “Corporate governance and regulation – legal reality or urban myth? What is the role for government?”