Last Thursday I received news that the small firm at which I have recently become a partner will be able to continue to provide a publicly funded service for the people of our town, with its high levels of poverty, family breakdown and unemployment, from 14 October.

In the midst of personal and work-based celebrations, however, I have been very aware that, although on this occasion we were one of the ‘winners’, the race which we were compelled to enter to apply for a Legal Services Commission family contract was of itself unfair.

We were successful with our bid partly because many years ago I gained membership of a particular Law Society panel and have regularly renewed this. I did not apply for membership with the thought that one day in the distant future this would give my firm a competitive advantage over other local firms wishing to undertake publicly funded work, nor do I feel that it necessarily makes me a ‘better’ solicitor than those who have not applied for membership.

In recent weeks the Gazette has often used the words ‘stress’ and ‘pressure’ to describe the experiences of legal aid solicitors involved in the tendering process.

On a personal level, my family, friends and work colleagues have all witnessed a change from my usual calm, controlled and optimistic nature, and I am sure my experiences have been repeated many times over across England and Wales.

Legal aid solicitors are not well paid and the vast majority of us do this work because we care deeply about vulnerable people in the communities we serve. It is surely unjust that our reward for providing this service over many years has been to be subjected to the recent competitive tendering process and the considerable delays in being notified of the results.

I am a solicitor specialising in family law and my training and experience equip me to provide advice, assistance and representation to clients on an individual basis, rather than to challenge the Legal Services Commission.

It is my hope, however, that there will be others in the profession who do have the skills and talents necessary to take whatever action is needed now to ensure that legal aid solicitors, and the clients they serve, do not have to repeat the experiences of recent months.

Name and address withheld on request