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GAZETTE
itself set up and assisted the working
group wh i ch produced such a
thorough and radical report. [Have
you read the Report?: if not dig it out
of your file of unread bumph, and do
so.]
3. In any event the me e t i ng had a
strand running through it wh i ch
should not be lost in the many
s p e c i f ic arguments that were made.
Very many practitioners, e s p e c i a l ly
those w h o have not traditionally
taken an active role in the
S o c i e t y 's activities, feel a mo st
urgent need for a n ew balance in
those activities: My o wn v i e ws are:
a. R e g u l a t i on must continue and
be ever more e f f e c t i v e: the
d ama ge d o ne by the defaulters
of recent years in terms of
public ima ge is still not
c omp l e t e ly past. The current
pressures of practice s ug g e st an
attendant risk of further default.
Professionals are in the firing
line as never before.
But many of us wo u ld w e l c o me
an opportunity to ensure that w e
are d o i ng things right, and
where w e are not, to correct
them long before irregularities
c o me to light or c omp l a i n ts have
to be investigated. For e x amp l e,
as a sole practitioner of three
years standing, I am not so mu ch
relieved as alarmed that no
interest has been taken by the
S o c i e ty in my o wn practice.
Provided the Ac c o u n t a n t 's
Certificate g o es in, no o ne
s e ems to care. I asked for
information on setting up in
practice but none has been
f o r t h c omi n g. I wo u ld s u g g e st a
visit should also be mandatory
within six mo n t hs to a year.
S o me form of continuing
o c c a s i o n al liaison wo u ld almost
certainly be a great saving on
the Comp e n s a t i on Fund in the
long term.
b. The S o c i e t y 's role in p r o m o t i ng
i n f o r m a t i on a n d e d u c a t i on
must be paramount.
(i)
It can tell the public what
solicitors are capable of and
APRIL/MAY 1996
wh en their services can be
invaluable. It can remind
p e o p le that w e are probably
the only source of
g e nu i n e ly independent
advice on legal and
financial matters that they
are likely to have a c c e ss to.
(ii) The c omp l e x i ty of the legal
s y s t em wh i ch we n ow have
to administer g r ows every
year. I am only a bit o v er
15 years qualified, but I
c ame through a s y s t em of
training wh i ch was frankly
inadequate. I hope that my
years of apprenticeship and
practice in well-run firms
have ma de up s ome of the
d e f i c i e n c i e s, but I cannot be
alone in thinking that my
legal k n ow l e d ge n e e ds a
c omp l e te overhaul and that
unless I am
made
to
undertake one, time will not
allow for it.
I am not sure if the current
s y s t em of continuing legal
education ( CLE) is
adequate; is there a need for
a more c omp r e h e n s i ve
s y s t em for updating legal
k n o w l e d ge amo ng the
middle to older section of
the p r o f e s s i o n? Should a
mandatory refresher course
o v er a series of w e e k e n ds
or e v e n i n g s, or by
c o r r e s p o nd e n ce be
instituted for all
practitioners qualified more
than say 10 years?
(iii) Furthermore, in day-to-day
practice, I am often
frustrated by lack of easy
a c c e ss to up-to-date legal
information. We are n ow
blessed with a hu ge
selection of up-to-date text
bo ok s, but small n ew
practices cannot afford to
buy them all. The provision
of on-line a c c e ss to the
S o c i e t y 's library, with top
class search facilities, is an
urgent need. We should
e n c o u r a ge y o un g er
memb e rs of the Bar to
provide better specialist
advice. A more c omp l ex
e c o n omy requires more
specialised and detailed
legal skills.
c. I have already c omme n t ed on
the need for financial regulation
and information. In addition
practitioners should be educated
as to the dangers of cutting
prices to generate business. The
temptation is there if you are
y o un g, hungry and cannot afford
to wait for business to c o me
through the door. But it is a
dangerous hook to get caught
on: o n ce p e o p le e x p e ct you to
provide c h e ap services, they will
continue to e x p e ct it. Mistakes
will inevitably occur if all the
work has to be d o ne at full tilt,
and the odd corner cut, to ma ke
it pay. The public spend a tiny
proportion of their life-time
earnings on solicitors fees: they
can well afford to pay, and will
accept paying, a proper rate
provided they are told from the
beginning, as is n ow mandatory,
what the charges will be and
h ow they are ma de up.
We are not the only profession
to be under pressure:
p r o f e s s i o n a l i sm is undervalued
at present. Lo ng established
institutions are under attack as
their inevitable a n oma l i es
provide journalists with
opportunities to fill c o l umn
inches. The solution is to be
more c o h e s i v e, better informed
and better represented in the
public e y e. The reforms n ow to
be introduced must be w e l c om ed
and e n c o u r a g ed and their
e n o rmo us relevance to the
p r o f e s s i on as a wh o le must be
promulgated and understood.
The S o c i e ty must never again be
seen as an irrelevant coterie to
be feared and avoided.
Yours sincerely,
Robert
Ashe,
Solicitor,
5/6 Lr Pollerton
Road
Car low
118