Ministers are meddling in the minutiae of legal professional regulation when they should be concentrating on more general issues, the Deputy Vice-President of the Law Society said at the weekend in a wide-ranging speech.

Andrew Holroyd criticised the government for being obsessed with the detail of regulation, which, he said, should be left to the profession itself. He cited the on-going protracted ratification of the new solicitors' rulebook as being 'indicative' of the government's attitude and behaviour.


Speaking at the annual Solicitor Sole Practitioners Group conference in Buxton, Mr Holroyd said he was increasingly concerned that ministers failed to respect the independence of the legal profession.


He was pleased that the Law Society had recently appointed solicitor Desmond Hudson as its new chief executive of representation (see [2006] Gazette, 27 April, 3). 'I am confident that he, as a solicitor, understands the importance of maintaining the independence of the legal profession in relation to the government and possible attempts by the government to interfere with that independence.'


Mr Holroyd had harsh messages for conference delegates. A legal aid practitioner himself, he warned that the Carter review of publicly funded criminal work could be difficult for solicitors. 'If we don't get something acceptable out of the review, then the profession is going to rebel,' he conceded.


But he also ruled out active support from Chancery Lane for a legal aid strike, saying it would be impossible to win unanimity across the profession for industrial action.


He disappointed conveyancing sole practitioners by saying the Law Society accepted the inevitability of the forthcoming home information packs and would not lobby against their introduction. 'The legislation is in place and home inspectors are being trained - I don't think there is a battle to be won any more,' he said, adding: 'We need to ensure that solicitors stay at the heart of the conveyancing process.'