There’s nothing necessarily equitable, or ethical, about unregulated markets, as the grave economic consequences of free market fundamentalism have demonstrated. So it’s no surprise that junior lawyers are being squeezed as law firms try to stay afloat in the most challenging business environment most solicitors can remember.

Newly qualified lawyers are being told they will only be taken on as paralegals, while law graduates seeking training contracts are being expected to work without pay.

Firms now have the upper hand over trainees, says the Junior Lawyers Division, and are leveraging that position to source cheap – and in some cases unpaid – labour.

This is regrettable. The question that arises is whether it amounts to exploitation. Well, yes and no. After all, it is not so long ago that newly qualifieds had the upper hand over firms, and used that leverage to secure handsome salaries that ranked them among the best-paid of their peers. That was merely the other side of the same coin.

Junior lawyers treated in this way are deserving of sympathy. Their employers should not be surprised if they take the first opportunity to improve their circumstances elsewhere when the market picks up. But it’s problematic to make the argument that the Solicitors Regulation Authority should intervene on their behalf; it’s a standards watchdog, not a trade union.