Learned lessons

I enjoy the banter over the use or abuse of the wearing of wigs in the Crown Court.

I spent about 20 years in my professional formative years in the criminal courts and appeared in the Crown Court on a number of occasions in front of all levels of the judiciary up to a High Court judge.The solicitors' cases always appeared to be the last on the list and we were frequently treated as second class citizens by both counsel and the bench, but I never let that interfere with my advocacy and, whether rightly and wrongly, gave back as much as I received.The present situation is of course inequitable and we must allow neither the bench nor the bar to treat us as inferiors.

Many solicitor-advocates were, and probably still are, infinitely better than many members of the bar.

I agree that it is high time that the argument about wearing wigs was brought to a conclusion and either every advocate or no advocate should wear them.

But there is an even more sinister differentiation.

Members of the bar are called 'my learned friend' and solicitors are called 'my friend'.

We are as learned, often more so, as they are andI think that that distinction should be eradicated forthwith.

However, I confess that on more than one occasion when I appeared in the Crown Court I referred to counsel as 'my, er, learned friend', and voice inflections were always worth a few more brownie points.Fortunately, I no longer have the drudgery of hanging about the criminal courts but support my brethren in being allowed to play on a level playing field.Peter Gildener, solicitor, Penzance, Cornwall