Irvine needs to find his balance

Solicitors could be forgiven for smiling wryly on reading reports of the Lord Chancellor's speech to the Mansion House last week, where Lord Irvine nailed his colours to the mast as the government's leading champion of the legal profession.Lord Irvine told the annual judges' dinner that Britain should be proud of the international role played by its legal profession, and grateful for the amount of foreign earnings contributed to the gross domestic product.

The government, said Lord Irvine, admires that existing performance and wants to assist in its further enhancement.

He also referred to a report by George Dobry QC, which praised the variety and quality of work done by the Law Society's international directorate and committee, while at the same time suggesting that greater co-ordination must occur between the legal profession and the government when promoting legal services overseas.Indeed, Lord Irvine has made some contribution already by promoting this country's legal services industry in both Europe and, importantly, China.Now back to the wry smiles passing across the faces of many practitioners.

At the risk of being churlish, it should be pointed out that while Lord Irvine is keen to hitch his wagon to the success story of international legal practice, he is far less interested in showing any sympathy for another, equally crucial, side of the legal profession: high street practitioners struggling to provide access to justice for many and to earn a living from state-funded legal work.

It would be refreshing to hear a speech from Lord Irvine that praised in equal terms their invaluable work, instead of the comment he made to the Law Society on freezing legal aid rates: 'It is not surprising that legal aid firms report lower earnings.

I am concerned that they are sufficient, competent practitioners - we do not need to attract the very best.'