Richard Tinn appears to be accusing me of departing from the traditional values of our profession in suggesting that clients want fixed fees instead of time-based charging (see [2010] Gazette, 18 February, 11).

Like Mr Tinn, I was brought up to believe that ‘you must always put the interests of your client before your own interests’. Nothing has changed. The issue is that, in today’s legal market, your client wants his interests looked after by his solicitor at a pre-agreed price – just as he does when he sees his surgeon, accountant or financial adviser.

Mr Tinn suggests that this means one client subsidising another client’s work. Not so. It is simply a fact that some work carries a higher price than other work, as determined by the usual market forces of supply and demand. None of us can escape the commercial realities of modern legal practice.

Christopher Digby-Bell, Senior general counsel, Palmer Capital Partners, London