I threw away my business cards, diaries and timesheets and waved good riddance to the telephones on my desk that had enslaved me for decades. I could focus entirely on the law and court work instead of juggling with staff problems, billing and administrative and partnership duties while I struggled to keep on top of an ever-increasing workload. That was 18 years ago and I had been appointed a district judge.

But I am still proud to be a solicitor. Like the vast majority of those on the district bench from our branch of the legal profession, we remain on the solicitors’ roll. However, when appointed we tend to disappear off the radar of the Law Society and former colleagues. By comparison, barrister judges continue to be tightly integrated into their ‘club’ after appointment. They become benchers, engage in all sorts of committees and disciplinary matters, dine in their inns and are treated as ‘old boys’. While not suggesting that the district bench wish to be so closely integrated, I think it is high time we did something to improve our relationship with you.

For starters, it might be helpful to know what we actually do. Even solicitors who regularly practise in the county courts have little idea of the scope of the work of a district judge.

There are some 468 of us sitting throughout England and Wales at county courts and High Court district registries. These are the courts where everyday decisions are made that can sometimes change peoples’ lives more fundamentally than a prison sentence.

District judges finally dispose of more than 80% of all contested civil litigation in England and Wales. Our cases include personal injury claims – road traffic accidents, accidents at work, in public places and on private property and so on – medical and other professional negligence claims, property and housing disputes, claims for possession of people’s homes, consumer claims and commercial contract disputes. We all exercise a civil jurisdiction, taking cases on the small, fast and multi-tracks, and most of us exercise a family jurisdiction. About 80% of district judges exercise a county court insolvency jurisdiction and about 90% have some High Court jurisdiction. Almost all exercise a private law Children Act jurisdiction and a third of the bench are nominated for public law Children Act work.

I would like to see solicitors competing more effectively with the bar at all levels, as advocates and as candidates for the judiciary. There is no magic about advocacy; it is the art of persuasion. It is an integral part of every successful solicitor’s armoury of skills – a part of your routine professional lives as negotiators and deal makers. Dealing with a case from the beginning gives practitioners unique mastery of every detail. It is only a small step further to argue the case in court. The experience and instruction acquired will better equip you to prepare and conduct litigation by concentrating all your skill and energy on the one or two crucial issues that win or lose cases.

I want to see an end of practices discriminating against those with ambitions to become judges. It is depressing to hear that solicitors seeking judicial experience risk their advancement, or even dismissal for alleged breach of their terms of service. It is indefensible to bind a talented litigator into such outdated and restrictive constraints. Part-time judges enrich their expertise and their firm’s performance by serving as they do. Many successful law firms have a proud history of producing some of the best judges on the bench.

District judges recognise our role in encouraging and supporting you to join the bench at every level. We welcome the Law Society’s initiatives in backing judicial appointment for solicitors and a number of us are participating in its ‘meet the judges’ project. We welcome you to job shadow us at our courts. We are happy to visit local Law Society groups and your firms to speak and pass on our experiences to help make you better advocates and litigation lawyers.

I look forward to a reinvigorated partnership with you, our brothers and sisters in law.

District Judge Monty Trent sits at the Mayor’s and City of London Court. He is the new president of the Association of Her Majesty’s District Judges