As a practising barrister not infrequently asked to advise solicitors regarding complaints to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), I endorse much of what Gregory Treverton-Jones QC had to say as reported in the news item 'Barrister puts SRA in the dock' (see [2008] Gazette, 8 May, 3).


My own work has revealed a considerable delay by the SRA in dealing with complaints on too many occasions and too ready a willingness to believe the worst of the solicitor. This is coupled with the fact that about 80% of solicitors appear from careful consideration to be innocent. One suspects that a large number - ignoring the old adage that a lawyer who acts for himself has a fool for a client - do not instruct counsel and then 'cave in' when they might have successfully resisted the complaint/allegation.



Stanley Best, Barnstaple Chambers, Devon