IT'S GOOD TO TALKI was pleased that the Gazette dealt with the Civil Justice Council costs forum so positively.

However, I was concerned that you should express surprise that different sections came together in respect of the other side's position and were prepared to talk constructively (see [2001] Gazette, 6 December, 14).This has been very much the practice over the past four or five years.

Organisations such as the Forum of Insurance Lawyers (FOIL), the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and the Motor Accidents Solicitors Society, for example, have forged a good understanding on many of the issues.

So much has been achieved, particularly by co-operation over the Woolf reforms, which has received the approbation of Lord Woolf and the District Judges' Association, and I am sure that all litigators appreciate the improvement in relations.The problems that have arisen over conditional fees were created by the government and not the lawyers.

The reason that issues arose was because of the broad nature of the rules and regulations which allowed advantage to be taken.It is to be hoped that the most recent discussions will bring certainty to this troubled area.Martin Staples, senior partner, Vizards Wyeth, London, and past president of FOIL