The Law Society is in the process of bringing in an anti-discrimination practice rule.

The Association of Women Solicitors supports this.

Nothing much in that on which to base an opinion in these politically correct times, you might think.

Indeed, perhaps we are all now so enlightened on the subject of sex equality that the rule will be redundant.Over 50% of those entering the profession are now women, perhaps evidence of the position of equality to which women have risen.

There might be an invisible barrier - the so-called 'glass ceiling' - above which women cannot progress, but as to women being treated differently in other aspects of work, perish the thought.Nowadays, even the need for an Association of Women Solicitors is questioned.

More times than I care to recall, people have asked why there is not an Association of Men Solicitors for the sake of balance.Well, here is one good reason, amongst many.

We are running a helpline for women who have lost their jobs through pregnancy (something which is never going to happen to a man).

Their stories show that sex discrimination is not a thing of the past, even if some think it so.Of course, we hear only one side of the stories, but how can those on the other side possibly justify the following behaviour:-- on being told a full-time employee of four years' service was pregnant, asking when she would be leaving so the firm could recruit a permanent replacement;-- telling an employee of six years' full-time service that she was not wanted back after her child's birth as she might have more babies;-- on hearing that an employee was pregnant for a second time, the boss saying, 'women should stay at home to look after their children.

My wife stayed at home until our son was 24.'Those are just three examples.

There are many more.

Any person who faces this kind of treatment in working life is perfectly justified in banding together with others for t heir collective protection, if for no other reason.The penalties for unlawful sex discrimination are increasing.

The removal last November of the limit on compensation which an industrial tribunal can award in sex discrimination cases makes it likely that more women will feel that bringing proceedings is worthwhile.The removal of the limit allows highly paid employees who are unlawfully discriminated against to claim their full losses, not only as regards wages but including pensions and other benefits such as a car and health care.Injury to feelings awards can also be expected to increase.

Previously they were viewed as being restricted to a proportion of the total possible compensation, so that an award of £4000 was at the higher end of the scale.

This artificial restriction has now been removed so that higher awards, perhaps approaching amounts awarded for pain and suffering in personal injury claims, may be looked for.The Association of Women Solicitors does not ask for preferential treatment, positive discrimination or quotas on recruitment.

Women are now a vital part of the profession, which cannot afford to do without us or undervalue us.

That is as much an economic reality as job losses are.We do, however, demand that fellow solicitors obey the letter and spirit of the law on equality.

Then we can stop haranguing them about it.

It will be a happy day for us too when there is no need for us to mention the subject again.

It would be a relief for the Association of Women Solicitors to stop fighting this battle and enjoy the other aspects of its work.All solicitors should know the treatment outlined above is illegal and even now a disciplinary offence as far as the Law Society is concerned.How can a profession which feels itself to be under attack from so many sides be so stupid as to risk handing our detractors ammunition in the form of the kind of publicity this could bring? This discriminatory behaviour is a blatant disregard of the law and the self-imposed standards of which we like to boast.Solicitors would not dream of advising our clients to break the law.

How can we go on piously claiming superiority over other mortals if some of us do this kind of thing and the rest of us turn a blind eye?If you are or have been tempted to discriminate, are you sure you could keep it secret? If not, are you prepared for the consequences? How many of your clients would be happy if they knew your firm had broken the law or been disciplined?No one is claiming that discrimination is as big a danger to the public as disappearing client accounts, but the profession's standards of conduct are not a set of rules from which you can pick and choose.

If you want to be a member, the terms are all or nothing.My association has the well-being of the whole profession in mind.

We do not believe it does any good in the long term to ignore these issues.

We will not hesitate to support any solicitor who has a good case in this area.

It is surely in everyone's interests to ensure that we never need to.The Law Society is setting its public face against discrimination of all sorts.

The sooner our private actions follow suit the better.So three cheers for the new practice rule.

Alone it will not make discrimination go away.

So I have a word of warning to those who think they are above the law - do not expect to go on getting away with it, you have been warned.