Obiter recently wrote about The Services of a Solicitor, a book published by the Law Society in 1961 to inform the public about what to expect from a solicitor.


It portrayed solicitors back then as homme d'affaires for all kinds of practical as well as legal advice. It also contained 'real life' discussions between solicitors or between solicitors and their clients about issues such as the integrity of insurers (plus ça change) and the danger of being sued for slander if your wife was an incorrigible gossip.



However, we did not name the author of the book. This prompted Simon Cockshutt from the London office of US firm Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe to get in touch.



'It was my late uncle, Hermon Cockshutt, who was for many years a very well-known and respected teacher of law, and also co-founder of the College of Law,' he tells us.



'He also wrote many instalments of the Socratic dialogue between Worldly Solicitor and Nephew Tom, in Law Notes, intended to throw light on particular legal problems for students through a rather stilted dialogue between the characters.'



His uncle's book, he adds, 'reflects the society of the day, and illustrates how society, as well as the legal profession, has changed enormously over the last 46 years.'



If any reader has a hardback copy of the book, Mr Cockshutt would be glad to hear from them. He can be contacted on 020 7562 5000.