I went to a meeting for solicitors today that I talked about yesterday. The meeting was attended by up to 75 people. I spoke to a number of the people who attended and they included solicitors, partners, barristers and even barristers clerks.
The speakers at the meeting included Rob Brown from the London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association and Greg Powell who was voted legal aid solicitor of the year. They addressed the group remindiing us that we have no trade union to represent solicitors and if we want to stand up to the government on it's latest set of reforms for legal aid and the criminal justice system then we need to get off of our own backsides and do something about it. I like comments like this because it has been said in plain English and in words that we can all understand.
I am now hoping that this message is spread far and wide so that other soilicitors take note. I wrote a long time ago about competitive tendering and said that the Legal Services Commission had issued a consultation paper and that there was a feeling amongst solicitors that there would be an amazing response. I offered to go out and buy a hat and eat it if 1,000 or more responses were sent in about the consultation. How many responses were sent in? 350.
I cannot remember how many solicitors there are working in crime but I do know that there are over ten times the amount that responded to that consultation.
If ever there was a time to get off a backside and do something then it is now. The only question is what should I do to encourage others?
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