It is not what we do but how we do it that defines solicitors, so the importance of our ethical code needs to be reasserted, argues Andrew Holroyd


What makes a solicitor a solicitor? It may be a simple question but in such a varied and successful profession it is almost impossible to isolate one single aspect of ‘what’ we do.



Take the office-holder team. I have personally spent more than three decades as a legal aid practitioner, focusing especially on immigration law. Vice-President Paul Marsh is a specialist in property law and there is nothing he doesn’t know about home information packs. Deputy Vice-President Bob Heslett is a partner at Beachcroft, having previously been managing partner at Wansbroughs Willey Hargrave.



Our profession is therefore defined not by what we do, but how we do it. And as important as expertise, knowledge and value for money are, ultimately the decision whether to choose a solicitor (or choose to return to the same solicitor) is based on one thing, and one thing only – trust.



Trust breeds confidence, whether that is business confidence or the personal relationship between a criminal solicitor and the accused. The foundation for that trust is our code of ethics. Yet while no solicitor would dispute that ethics are important, and while I have great respect for our university legal departments (they consistently produce some of the very best legal minds in the world), ethics play little or no part in university courses. The contrast with countries such as the US is stark. There, ethics are integral to the learning process.



There is something curiously British about how we as a profession have traditionally viewed ethics. Ours was a profession for gentlemen, and it was not befitting of a gentleman to do anything unethical. While this ‘it’s just not cricket’ approach is laudable, the world has changed. What we do and the context in which we do it has changed radically over the 30 years I have been in practice.



For that reason, we have asked Professor Kim Economides to review how legal ethics should be taught in the process of qualification as a solicitor. We can no longer just assume that ethics are somehow picked up from the environment.



I have also agreed to speak at a seminar in Exeter in May organised by Professor Economides on the value of a legal Hippocratic oath. I have recently discovered that, in our dim and distant past, an oath on qualification was required. Is this something we should again consider?



Over the course of the next three months the Law Society is running a series of debates under the theme of markets, justice and legal ethics to explore rule 1 of our code of conduct. Each event will put one aspect of rule 1 under the microscope and will feature high-profile and influential speakers from all branches of law and business. Gazette columnist Joshua Rozenberg will be chairing each event, helping us to pull together the lessons, and as I write the series was due to begin this week with an event attended by the Lord Chancellor Jack Straw. You can get involved through our website, where we are canvassing the profession’s opinion on a range of current issues with ethical dimensions to them. Please do join in the debate by visiting www.lawsociety.org.uk/professionalvalues.





Changes to the QLTT

The qualified lawyers transfer test has needed to be reviewed for a long time. What are the principles on which such a review should take place? It is important that in a competitive global market our firms should be able to hire the best talent from around the globe. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) should make sure that, while it should not compromise on proper standards of entry to the profession, it should not place unjustified barriers on hiring excellent lawyers wherever they have trained – subject to appropriate evidence of competence and knowledge. London in particular is the best because it hires the best. I hope the SRA thinks again about its interim proposals and thinks carefully before they do damage to our legal marketplace. Let us work together to make sure that we get the review right. (See also page 23 put url here!)





Legal Sector Alliance

I want to end on green issues by mentioning the Legal Sector Alliance. This is an alliance of legal practices across the profession which are determined to make a difference in the fight against climate change by playing their part to reduce their carbon footprint. You too can take part through www.legalsectoralliance.com. This is an opportunity for firms to become environmentally sustainable by putting the profession in the very best light, and becoming more efficient and effective in the process.



To give a lead on this issue, the Law Society has itself already reduced its energy consumption by nearly 20%, which of course has saved the profession a not insignificant sum of money.



Andrew Holroyd is President of the Law Society