Kevin Martin makes strides in assessing the Carter review, in urging Whitehall to reconsider its inheritance tax regime, and in forming a new representative body


It has been a particularly busy month planning for the future of the Law Society. We have also been tackling issues such as the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) decision to stop giving work to sole practitioners, inheritance tax and the Carter review – just three issues that solicitors tell us are important to them.


But last week I gave leadership of a different kind, fronting the Law Society team in the second annual London Legal Support Trust sponsored walk. We were joined by more than 800 fellow legal profession walkers including the Lord Chief Justice, the Master of the Rolls and hundreds of solicitors from City firms. After 10k, avoiding rain and sore feet, more than £75,000 was raised for London’s law centres and legal advice agencies (which is more than double the amount of money that was collected last year). This is a fantastic achievement for all concerned.


Not wanting to put our feet up, the Law Society has also been taking giant steps for the profession.


Recent legal action by the Law Society has prompted the CPS to reverse its decision to stop giving work to sole practitioners (see [2006] Gazette, 18 May, 1). Following a dispute with Revenue & Customs (HMRC) over the tax status of sole practitioners, earlier this year the CPS wrote to sole practitioners on its books to inform them that it was ceasing to instruct them for CPS prosecution work with immediate effect.

The Law Society acted quickly and instigated a judicial review against the CPS, HMRC as an interested party. The Society argued that the CPS and HMRC were wrong to claim that the CPS should pay tax on the work given to sole practitioners and, following the Society’s intervention, the CPS has withdrawn the ban.


This is a victory for the Law Society and for common sense. The decision by the CPS to stop giving work to sole practitioners effectively meant that hundreds of solicitors were left high and dry. Many lost out on work and some were left in a serious financial position. The CPS realised the strength of opposition across the profession to its position. In light of our legal action, we are pleased that the CPS and HMRC moved quickly to resolve this matter. All sole practitioners affected by the original decision should now approach their local CPS branch to secure new work.


We have also been continuing the hard work on legal aid. Much of our efforts on the Carter review of legal aid have been focused on challenging the Carter team to show that its proposals do not damage the diversity of the profession. A key aspect of diversity is maintaining small firms and sole practitioners with a geographical spread and a range of specialisms. Even if we do not get all the outcomes we want when the final report is published later this summer, the situation could be much worse if we did not intervene at all.


Those of you who receive the Law Society e-mail communication ‘Professional update’ will already know that we are asking solicitors to write to their local MPs about their objections to the new inheritance tax regime – a template letter has been produced by the Society for practitioners to express their objections quickly and simply.


This is just one part of our high-profile campaigns to get the government to think twice about proceeding with its currently drafted, ill-conceived proposals for altering the inheritance tax laws. The Law Society has been consistently vocal in the media, featuring on probably every front page of every newspaper at some time since the proposals were first announced. Building on a policy of high media exposure, a good deal of activity has also been taking place less publicly behind the scenes, including a productive meeting with HMRC to discuss the technical details.


From what solicitors have already told us, we know that they are right behind our campaign. I know from speaking to practitioners that the strength of feeling is considerable. Many of you see unnecessary significant cost, and a considerable amount of anxiety ahead for your clients. I am confident that our efforts will bring about a change in policy and I will keep solicitors updated on our progress.


The message from the profession during the Law Society’s ‘Have Your Say’ consultation is that we need to pay more attention to your concerns; to support you more effectively we must be better at delivering on the issues that you tell us are important.


The Law Society is delivering real improvements for solicitors, but we can, and will, do more in the future.


We are well on the road to delivering the future Law Society – a representative body that understands, reflects and champions its members’ needs. The Society’s council has now determined the strategic scope and purpose for the new Law Society and we are moving quickly into the detailed planning work to redesign our functions and services.


The Law Society will be very different in 12 months and we will be building on our strengths, achievements and reputation to demonstrate that we are a strong voice for solicitors, supporting them in developing their practices and careers.


There is much still to do, but I am confident that we will achieve our objectives by July 2007.


Kevin Martin is the Law Society President