House debates

As the largest of the two debating unions in University College Dublin, the society gathers once a week to debate topical motions relating to students and other national issues of importance. This is one of the main activities of the society, typically taking place on Tuesday evenings in the Fitzgerald Chamber in the UCD Student Centre. Guest speakers related to the topic are sometimes invited to engage with the motion and address the students. Attendance at house debates varies weekly, with debates attracting anywhere between 30 and 300 people. Motions often range from Northern Ireland politics and the relevance of the Students' Union, to the constitutional protection of women's place in the home and Irish neutrality.

The Law Society organised the first live Irish presidential debate which took place on nominations day 2011. A society debate on the second Lisbon Treaty referendum, on 28 September 2009, saw an attendance of over 1,000 students in O'Reilly Hall, Belfield.^[4]

Guest speakers and honorary life memberships

The Law Society also regularly invites speakers to deliver individual addresses to the society. Guest speakers have included former Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell in October 2009^[5] and the former lead prosecutor of Slobodan Milosevic, Sir Geoffrey Nice QC in March 2010.^[6] In 2017, the vice president of the European Commission Frans Timmermans received an honorary lifetime membership, as did Jean-Claude Trichet, former president of the ECB.

The society awards 'Honorary Life Memberships' to individuals who have contributed significantly to their field. Recipients of Honorary Life Memberships have included actors Patrick J. Adams, Sir Christopher Lee, Martin Sheen, John C. McGinley,^[7] Dirk Benedict,^[8] Jeremy Irons,^[9] David Kelly and Leslie Nielsen,^[10] comedians Colin Murphy, Dan Antopolski and Bill Bailey,^[11] authors Tucker Max,^[12] Jung Chang^[13] and Noam Chomsky,^[14] political figures Ken Livingstone^[15] and Bill Clinton, sportspeople Cristiano Ronaldo, Pauleta, Jimmy White,^[16] Brian O’Driscoll^[17] and Paul O’Connell,^[18] dancer Michael Flatley,^[19] supermodel Erin O’Connor^[20] and Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney.^[21]

Controversies

The society is committed to maintaining a policy of free speech, a policy which it has, on occasion, found difficult to maintain. In 2008, the radical French politician Jean-Marie Le Pen was invited to address the society concerning the federalisation of the European Union.^[22] This event was essentially struck down by university authorities after it denounced the move in response to queries from the national media. Many other debates have seen significant protests from left-wing student movements. Their policy of "no TDs on campus" due to perceived government support of university tuition fees has often conflicted with invitations to Fianna Fáil TDs on unrelated debate motions. Protests occurred in 2008 when government minister Éamon Ryan arrived to address the society.^[23] and again in 2009 when Bertie Ahern chaired a debate.^[24]

In November 2015, Robert O'Neill, the soldier who shot Osama bin Laden, was invited to address the society.^[25] The event attracted controversy, and during the week of the event posters and online advertising of the event disappeared without explanation.^[26] The morning of the address however, posters appeared promising a 'mystery guest' and depicting the silhouette of a navy seal. Robert O'Neill duly gave his address to a large audience.

Cecil Lavery Moot Court Competition

The Cecil Lavery is a moot court competition named after one of the society's former auditors, a former Attorney General and Supreme Court Judge. It was initiated in 2005. The competition is organised in a knockout format and the grand final is held in the UCD Sutherland School of Law in February each year with senior members of the Irish judiciary invited to adjudicate. The winners go forward to represent UCD in the Holland & Knight National Moot Court Competition.

Thomas A. Finlay Moot Court Intervarsity

The Thomas A. Finlay Moot Court Intervarsity is an international moot court competition named after the former Irish Chief Justice, Thomas A. Finlay. It was founded in 2009.

Schools' debating

The society also promotes and organises competitive debating in secondary schools across Ireland through the Law Society Schools' Mace and the Junior Schools Debating Competition.

Legal and Economic Society

The society was founded in 1911 as the Legal & Economic Society. The professor and politician, J.G. Swift McNeill, gave the inaugural address. Early committee members included Thomas Kettle, Conor Maguire, Thomas Arkins and Arthur Cox. The society ran a number of small legal debates in its early years and struggled to maintain its activity during the War of Independence and Civil War.

Legal Society

The society was renamed the Legal Society in 1924 and had a brief resurgence of activity under the auditorship of J.C. Flood. In 1926 however, the society ran into trouble once again.

Law Society

In 1935, the society was reconstituted as the Law Society, tasked with organising legal debates and representing legal students. In 1946, the son of Conor Maguire, Peter D. Maguire, became auditor, addressing the society on the importance of peace through the United Nations. The Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera, attended.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the society began to challenge the Literary & Historical Society for dominance in University debate. A debating tour to universities in Britain was organised annually. The tour eventually ceased in Colm Allen's session due to security concerns following IRA violence in the Troubles.

During the 1970s, the society won the Irish Times twice, as well as the Irish Mace, both times with auditor Conor Gearty. It would continue the success throughout the 1980s and 1990s as the society won the Irish Times twice more. The 1980s and 1990s also saw an increase in the scale of the society's activities as it began to host larger debates. The notorious criminal, Martin Cahill, addressed the society in 1987 and for many years the society held the Guinness World Record for the longest ever continuous debate.^[27]

The 1990s saw the society expand its membership base beyond law students; reaching out to the entire campus. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the society continually grew, first in hundreds, then in thousands. The society reached virtually saturation point in 2010, when prior to the awarding of Honorary Life Membership to television presenter Jeremy Kyle, it signed up its 5,000th member for that session.

In the 2010s, the society gained national news coverage when welcoming figures such as Judge Judy and Donald Tusk. By 2017, the society had reached 5,600 members before winning the Irish Times back-to-back, in 2017 and 2018.

Auditor and committee

The Law Society is run by a committee of selected members, each with a specific remit. The committee is chosen by the auditor, who is elected for a single year term by the enrolled membership of the society. The auditor is the head of the committee and responsible for the day-to-day running of the society. At the society's annual general meeting, the results of the auditorial election are declared and the new auditor appointed following the passing over of the chain of office.

Patron, president and vice-presidents

The roles of patron, president and vice-president roles are largely ceremonial. As of 2019, the patron of the Law Society was Professor Andrew J. Deeks, the President of UCD, while the president of the society was the Dean of the School of Law, Professor Imelda Maher. There are a number of vice-presidents, who are almost exclusively all international legal figures and address the society upon their appointment to the position. Notable vice-presidents have included the Chief Justice of Canada, the Hon. Ms Justice Beverly McLachlin PC,^[28] Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Antonin Scalia,^[29] the former President of the U.K. Supreme Court, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers,^[30] Professor Joseph Raz, Baroness Hale of Richmond^[31] and former Irish President and U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson.