Briefs: Policing review

John Hayes, the secretary-general of the Law Society, has called for a fundamental review of the way in which the legal profession polices itself.

Interviewed in the Law Society's Gazette, Mr Hayes points out that 35 per cent of the income from practising certificates is being mopped up by the 20,000 complaints a year addressed by the Solicitors Complaints Bureau.

The key to cutting the bill, Mr Hayes believes, lies in the development by firms of a "fully fledged client care culture". The bureau would also need to become more selective about the work it took on.

John Hayes was awarded a CBE for services to law in the New Year's Honours List.