LETTER:Verdicts on the legal profession

From Mr Nicholas Draycott

Sir: In your letters section "Balancing solicitors' needs and clients' rights" (9 October) Martin Mears, the new Law Society president, is berated for his angry response to the Which? report about poor legal advice.

For all his obvious faults, Mr Mears should at least be given credit for unashamedly admitting that the function of the Law Society is (and in truth always has been) to uphold and protect solicitors' interests. This refreshing honesty should obviate those nauseatingly hypocritical debates between the Law Society and the Bar, where diametrically opposed views are paraded as being "in the public interest".

Equally, given this pragmatic approach, Tony Blair's assumption that the legal profession could be prevailed upon to undertake some free work exposes Blair as a naive sentimentalist and raises doubts about his judgement and common sense.

Yours faithfully,

Nicholas Draycott

Sydenham, Oxfordshire

10 October