Manx government urged to reject report on requalification period for solicitorsISLE OF MAN: Law Society plea after Calcutt backs criteria to earn full practice rightsEnglish solicitors have called on the Isle of Man government to reject a report that came out against changing the requirement that they undergo a lengthy requalification period.The Law Society submission said: We fear that the restrictions faced by our members are maintained mostly in order to provide Manx advocates with a competitive advantage.

In the long term, it can only be to the detriment of their profession not to be prepared for competition.The letter followed publication of a report by Sir David Calcutt QC into the provision of legal services in the island (see [2001] Gazette, 22 March, 6).

Sir David rejected changing the need for English and Welsh solicitors to complete two years articles and pass the Manx advocates exam before gaining full practice rights, even though Manx advocates enjoy full rights on the mainland.Refuting Sir Davids assertion that there are sufficient differences between English and Manx law to require requalification, Christian Wisskirchen, the Law Societys Europe policy executive, said: As far as we are aware, there are very few areas of the law where there are notable differences between England and the Isle of Man.In any case, the differences are not so considerable as to justify the full advocates exam and two years articles.

We believe it cannot be right that fully qualified solicitors should be required to give up their practice and apprentice themselves, for a substantially reduced income, to a Manx advocate.The Society also called on the Isle of Man to approve multi-national partnerships (MNPs) so that solicitors can become partners in Manx firms; Sir Davids report did not comment on the idea.

Such a rule change would go some considerable way to compensate for the inequalities concerning requalification, Mr Wisskirchen said.It is understood that the Isle of Man Law Society will be considering approving MNPs next month.

In 1997, it accepted MNPs in principle.Around 40 solicitors work in the Isle of Man, a relatively large number for such a small single jurisdiction.Neil Rose