I was a little irritated to read 'Geared up for change', which related to the collapse of Rover in Longbridge, Birmingham, and how this would affect solicitors in the area (see [2005] Gazette, 16 June, 26).

It made reference to national firms such as Wragge & Co, and Clarke Wilmott. We are a high street firm of solicitors based about a mile away from the Longbridge plant. Over the years, we have acted on behalf of hundreds of employees of Rover dealing with their conveyancing, wills, probate, employment issues, family issues and so on.


On a lighter note, this includes, for example, a criminal case in which an employee endeavoured to steal a Mini Metro from the plant, piece by piece over a number of months.


With respect to the larger firms, the collapse of Rover will in fact have a far greater impact on small high street practices than on the larger national firms.


Peter Carvill, Carvill & Johnson, Birmingham