Government threatens to strip QCs of rank if they fail to provide 'value for money'

The value to the public in retaining the centuries-old QC system is to be tested in a wide-ranging government review of the legal services market.

Public bodies and solicitors who instruct senior barristers will be asked to provide any evidence of Queen's Counsel overcharging or not giving value for money. Some QCs could be stripped of their rank if their advocacy or legal advice falls below a certain standard.

The review is part of a response by ministers to a report by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), which highlighted a number of restrictive practices in the legal profession last year. John Vickers, the director general of the OFT, said the QC system was a "badge of seniority" given to the top 10 per cent of barristers, enabling them to charge higher fees. He concluded it was of "questionable value to consumers".

He also criticised the lack of openness surrounding the Lord Chancellor's role in appointing QCs, or "silks".

But, in launching the consultation exercise yesterday, the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine of Lairg, said that the rank of QC was a "Kitemark of quality". He defended the Lord Chancellor's role as final arbiter of appointments, stating that he was "well positioned to be custodian of this process".

The review asks for comments on whether QCs have an unfair advantage by being allowed to sit on a court's front bench and whether the mark of QC causes "anti-competitive distortions in the market".

Further plans for reform could usher in a new legal market place where supermarkets could sell customers legal advice.

The consultation paper also announced a review of legal services regulation, which could lead to an end to self-regulation for lawyers. Solicitors could be allowedto go into business with accountants or other professionals to provide a "one-stop shop", while changes to the Law Society code and other rules could allow them to sell their services in superstores or other shops.

The review of the regulatory framework will alarm the 80,000 solicitors and 10,000 barristers in England and Wales, who are used to issues of regulation being dealt with by their own trade bodies.

Lord Irvine said: "The Government is aware that the framework of regulation governing legal services has become a maze, with some aspects that are simply not meeting the needs of today, let alone the future."

The extent of the review is yet to be decided but a spokesman for the Lord Chancellor's Department conceded that it was "an initial first step that could lead to major reform of the regulatory framework".

Ann Abraham, the Legal Services Ombudsman, published a report earlier this month that attacked the way the Law Society dealt with complaints. It said that only 58 per cent of complaints were dealt with satisfactorily by its Office for the Supervision of Solicitors last year. She described its work as "consistently shaky".