Lawyers at your service - or theirs

Ecumenism has yet to break out in the legal profession, to judge from the list of church services planned in Dublin to mark the…

Ecumenism has yet to break out in the legal profession, to judge from the list of church services planned in Dublin to mark the opening of the legal year on Monday. But then the law was always adversarial.

There's a Catholic Mass in St Michan's, Halston Street at 10 a.m. and a joint Protestant service starts in the other St Michan's, in Church Street, 15 minutes later. Ecumenciallyminded lawyers, despite a habit of dashing between courts, will be hard-pressed to attend both. Jewish lawyers can mark the return to work and justice today at 11 a.m., while Muslims did so yesterday at the South Circular Road mosque. Both the Greek Orthodox and the Coptic Orthodox churches are holding special services tomorrow. The Law Society did seek a single ecumencial service, but lost the case. Maybe the legal eagles think all this praying will improve their image or even atone for their avarice.