Anthony Hilton: Lack of solvency by solicitors could cost us all

Banks remain unwilling actually to pull the plug though it is happening. More often though the death knell comes from the insurance community which gets nervous and refuses to renew a firm's professional indemnity cover, without which it cannot practice. Thus the last few months have seen a steady procession of firms to the knacker's yard .

This has the potential to be a huge business and social issue. The Solicitors Regulatory Authority currently has between 1,200 and 1,500 firms on its watch list as candidates for closure if they don't clean up their financial act

Meanwhile the implications for the business community are uncomfortable. Imagine you had exchanged contracts to buy a house but your solicitor went bust before completion. There have been cases where this has happened and it is a nightmare for the unfortunate clients because there are no swift and easy mechanisms for half-finished work to be seen through to completion. So the solvency of the family solicitor, something which was never an issue for previous generations, is potentially the looming problem for our times.