It may not have occurred to solicitors dealing with debt cases that the Legal Services Commission (LSC) may have more in common with socially excluded clients than they realised. An LSC press release last month urged consumers to 'control their [Christmas] spending and plan ahead' or risk falling into debt in the New Year. 'Set a budget and stick to it,' it advised. But obviously, the LSC is one body that should be able to empathise - given that it has also struggled to stay in credit over recent years and has admitted to a projected overspend in 2006. The LSC release said January would be 'crunch time' when it comes to debt for consumers - perhaps it is also speaking for itself, given that the Carter review of legal aid is due to report by the end of this month. The LSC also advised those in trouble to consult a specialist adviser, but a worrying trend - pointed out by the Legal Aid Practitioners Group last month - is that the number of firms holding LSC debt contracts has dropped by 42% in the past few years.