The Law Society is now distributing 100,000 copies of a leaflet entitled 'Working with your solicitor' from which I have taken the following quotes:'You may want to choose the firm that quotes the cheapest price (p.2)...A specialist firm may be able to offer a faster, cheaper service (p.3)...Ask how much the first interview is likely to cost (p.7)...One of the most important things to establish at the first meeting is the likely cost (p.13)...Ask for an estimate of costs (p.15)...Am I clear about how much it could cost me? (p.16)...The bureau (SCB) can reduce a bill, order compensation...if you still think you are being overcharged...make sure you complain as quickly as possible (p.18).'It is not a long booklet.

There are only about ten pages of proper text -- probably little more than 2000 words -- but it manages to refer to solicitors' costs 15 times and devotes one and a quarter pages to 'how to complain'.I appreciate the need to explain to clients about probable costs.

It prevents subsequent arguments and, if the client is unwilling to pay a fair fee, it is better to know before the work is started.

However, I do have to question whether or not this leaflet has the right balance.The public has difficulty in making informed decisions about which firms to use.

There are plenty of lay advisers pretending that buying legal services is no different to buying soap powder, but the one organisation we should be able to rely upon to tell clients the truth is the Law Society.The leaflet should state, in the boldest type, that the last thing a client should do is judge a soli citor on price, and that the cheapest is rarely the best value for money.It should explain what solicitors actually do and the good service most of us provide, usually at a very reasonable price.It should also explain that the reasons why legal work is sometimes expensive lies in the inefficiencies and complexities of the court system and the high cost of expert witnesses and of counsel.It should show that we are guides who help clients find a way through the legal maze created by politicians and the courts -- not by solicitors -- and that it is through us that clients obtain access to justice.Why does the leaflet not spell out that only a small part of the fee we charge ends up in our own pockets?Why does it not mention the expense of providing decent premises, well-trained staff and all the backup required by any modern business?Why does it not emphasise the millions of transactions that solicitors deal with each year and how rare it is for negligence to occur? That, if it does, the client is protected by the best indemnity and compensation schemes in the world, paid for entirely by the profession.Why has the Law Society got the tone of this leaflet so disastrously wrong? I am told that it was written by a non-lawyer, supervised by someone with limited experience of private practice, and then given to the National Consumer Council for approval.We must make sure that this never happens again.

Times are difficult enough for most of us without our own Society making matters worse.

We must make sure that those who deal with the public on our behalf genuinely understand our problems and our strengths.If we can manage this, perhaps one day the Society may actually reflect the true voice of its members.