I was incensed to read the comment from Lord Carter in your interview that 'the idea of the dedicated, up-all-night solicitor is not how it seems to work to us' (see (2006) Gazette, 7 September, 24).

I and my colleagues believe that we are those up-all-night dedicated solicitors, and a recent review by the Legal Services Commission indicated that our performance at the police station - measured by favourable outcome, that is, no further action was taken against the clients or they were released following a reprimand or warning - was more than 20% higher than the national average.


The Carter review will supposedly save £100 million a year. If we were to become less dedicated and potentially allow further cases to proceed beyond police stations and into the courts, then there is likely to be an increased expenditure per case, and not the saving that Lord Carter envisages.


The review also plans to do away with travelling and waiting time. In our area, the vast majority of time spent in this regard is caused by the inefficiency of the police, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Courts Service. Lord Carter seems to believe that solicitors should pay for the poor performance of the state's agencies and will be willing to accept low pay rates for the privilege of doing so.


The article in the interview concludes with Lord Carter suggesting 'I must be a madman'. Many of us will concur.


John Davies, Davies Gore Lomax, Leeds