Let the devolved decide

I chair the subcommittee appointed by the Law Society of Northern Ireland charged with considering what should be the profession's response in this part of the United Kingdom to the idea of multi-disciplinary practices (MDPs).I note, with some surprise, that according to your recent editorial (see [2000] Gazette, 30 March, 14), we are an exception (or part of an exception) to the approach of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE).

We are in the global forefront of the concept of MDPs, and we are confronted by an irresistible momentum emanating from the British government and the Office of Fair Trading.It is not a position I recognise.

While enjoying constructive dialogue with our sister professional bodies in England and Wales and in Scotland, which continues as part of the consideration of a complex matter which is not solely determined by the aspirations of lawyers, we have made no commitment to the approach adopted by the Council of the Law Society.

I believe that is also the position in Scotland.For our part, we believe there may be insuperable obstacles to the most modest of proposals, assuming that the 'demand', so often talked about, exists.

And if there is an answer, it may be that not for the first time the answer for England and Wales may not be the answer for Northern Ireland.As to governmental pressure, I believe that the answer to devolution decisions may lie with the devolved bodies, none of which to my knowledge has expressed any opinion.Judge Burgess, Donaghadee, County Down, Northern Ireland