The traditional role of the official solicitor has been of knight in shining armour, rescuing those who are unable legally to defend themselves.That image was somewhat tarnished when Peter Harris, the current official solicitor, decided to sell the feature film rights of police interviews towards the book Fred West was intending to write.What followed was an unprecedented public outcry and the announcement by the Lord Chancellor that his department was to review the role and duties of the official solicitor.Leo Goatley, the lawyer representing Rose West, had dealings with both the official solicitor and the assistant official solicitor, Bill McBryde, with regard to the estate of the Wests' five youngest children.

The official solicitor's office was asked by Gloucestershire County Council's legal department to intervene after Fred West hanged himself in January 1996.While Mr Goatley describes both Mr Harris and Mr McBryde as courteous and helpful, he questions the sale of the film rights and the decision to call in top City lawyers Taylor Joynson Garrett (TJG) to advise on the issue of copyright.

The terms of reference of the Lord Chancellor's review have yet to be decided.

However, it is likely to consider the question of how to resolve the conflict of interest that may arise when, for example, the official solicitor must maximise the value of an estate and take into account the emotional well being of minors.Mr Goatley says that Mr Harris has been exposed to the massive media interest that the West case generated without having the 'strategy or mechanisms' to deal with it.

Since official solicitors tend to be appointed from the higher echelons of the Lord Chancellor's Department the only training they have in dealing with the media is that which they get on the job.

Peter Harris, a barrister, graduated to the post of northern circuit administrator before succeeding David Venables -- who spent almost his entire career in the official solicitor's department -- in 1993.Until recently, the role of the official solicitor in the thousands of cases where the courts appointed him to act on behalf of those unable to represent themselves -- children, the mentally ill, prisoners and even unascertainable company shareholders -- attracted very little interest.

That changed in 1993 when Mr Venables acted for Tony Bland, a man who had suffered such severe brain damage at Hillsborough that his parents applied to the court to let him die.Mr Venables says it is such medico-legal cases that are 'attracting enormous amounts of public attention'.

A more typical scenario would be a personal injury case where a child has been injured by a parent.Penny Letts, secretary of the Law Society's mental health disability sub-committee, believes the independent role of the official solicitor is important, particularly in cases where patients are in persistent vegetative states.Ms Letts says the Bland case was the first of its kind to result in loss of life.

'The court had to be sure whether or not any new treatments might be devised in the near future which could have reversed his persistent vegetative state, and the likelihood of a recovery, and his level of suffering.' Following the Bland case, the official solicitor issued practice notes and guidance on cases that raise very controversial issues.The 130 employees who work for the official solicitor at 81 Chancery Lane, above Chichester Rents, include 13 lawyers.

The office of the official solicitor, created by s 90 of the Supreme Court Act, is open to a solicitor or barrister of ten years' standing and is held on similar terms to that of a judge, following appointment by the Lord Chancellor.

About 60% of the work concerns children.

The official solicitor also has a general role in assisting the court, upon receiving its request.

In the West case, the district judge made such an order after Gloucestershire County Council's legal department, looking after the legal interests of the West children, sought help.To this end he may be asked to brief counsel to appear as amicus curiae in cases in which the court requires additional research and argument.

The ability to instruct counsel at the last minute is an important power as many medico-legal cases come as emergencies.

One such case was on behalf of a Broadmoor patient who was suffering from a life-threatening gangrenous foot.

The official solicitor acted as amicus in this case and supported the patient's right to self-determination in deciding to keep his foot at all costs.Anorectics who refuse, or are too ill, to consent to medical treatment may need independent legal advice.

And another difficult area, which again arouses media interest, involves cases where mentally incapacitated women are sexually act ive and there is an application for them to be sterilised.Beyond this, the official solicitor also has a duty to make bail applications on behalf of remand prisoners who have previously been refused bail by a Crown Court judge.

All cases where defendants are committed to prison for 28 days or more are automatically referred to the official solicitor for review.Many of these scenarios raise extremely complicated issues, which ordinary solicitors are not always equipped or permitted to deal with.

The knowledge that there is a specialist, independent lawyer, is not just reassuring for the solicitor concerned but also necessary for the proper administration of justice.Both Mr Goatley and Ms Letts hope the Lord Chancellor's review will not interfere with the independence of his role.

Mr Goatley says: 'The West case was unique and I don't think there are any general lessons to be learned from one case that would result in changing the official solicitor's terms of reference.'