The Law Society should stop charging a standard fee for the practising certificate and introduce 'proportionate' differential rates, newly elected Solicitors in Local Government (SLG) chairwoman Suzanne Bond has said.


Bond told delegates at the SLG's conference in Exeter that budget cutbacks were depriving many local authority solicitors of the status and protection of a current practising certificate. These solicitors were usually titled 'legal officers', she said, and could not give undertakings or accept responsibility for reserved work.



Bond said: 'I racked up huge student debts becoming a solicitor and feel I've earned the right to hold a practising certificate with pride. But for some budget-strapped councils £1,000 per head is simply too expensive. It's time the fee became proportionate, with magic circle firms - for example - paying more than local authorities.'



A spokeswoman for the Solicitors Regulation Authority said the Legal Services Act would give it more scope to charge for regulation proportionately and on the basis of risk.



Jonathan Rayner