So the Law Society is to spend £422,000 telling people what they already know, namely, that they can turn to a solicitor for legal advice because solicitors are ‘qualified to answer’.

Is this money well spent and properly targeted as far as the public and the profession are concerned?

The public will largely ignore this campaign because few will get free advice from legal aid and the rest won't be able to afford what the solicitor will want to charge them.

The profession will have mixed feelings about the campaign, not only about the cost, but also because the last thing most solicitors’ firms, who are conventionally geared to providing a representation service at hundreds of pounds per hour, will want is to be pestered with requests for casual legal advice.

The solicitor brand is not promoted by offering what cannot currently be delivered.

What the Law Society should be spending the money on is helping solicitors to understand and copy the law shop model, where firms offer clients a distinct, limited, advice-only service at a low cost, but as a profitable alternative alongside the firm's representation service.

With existing premises, staff and other resources already in place, solicitors are in a unique position to deliver on a commercial basis – not pro bono – this kind of local, qualified, face-to-face help – if the advice-only service is properly packaged.

The law shop system won the award for client service in the 2009 Law Society Excellence Awards.

Peter Browne , solicitor, Bristol