How to Choose a Solicitor Sut,—R. A. Cline's article (December
30) is a fair and helpful guide, but limitations of space have inevitably led him to generalise. I hope your readers will not be led to think that, if they want help and advice in anything except small court cases or tenancy problems, they must go to an assize town or within ten miles of the Strand—and then avoid the small firm.
The smallest firms all over the country are able to offer a wide range of services. As Mr Cline says, clients' affairs refuse to classify themselves within tidy categories and then, while specialist services are needed in some fields, there is some advantage in consulting first a general practitioner who can see the wood in spite of the trees. The system of agency and a separate specialising Bar means that the client almost anywhere in the country may have access to specialist help if he needs it—and in a way that has proved economic in the past.
Whether it will continue to be economic in the future is a different matter. This association is concerned that the small practice away from the large centres is gradually becoming uneconomic. The reason is the 'small fee' mentioned by Mr Cline to which the solicitor is restricted because of the failure to raise scales of fees to accord with the rising cost of living and soaring overheads.
It would be a sad thing not only for the solicitors concerned but also for the freedom of the indi- vidual and the rule of law if legal help and advice were confined to the large prosperous centres.
ARNOLD WEXLER, Past Chairman, British Legal Association 64 Highgate High Street, Highgate, London N6
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