Panel beaters

I refer to your front-page article about the proposals to relax the rules barring solicitors from paying referral fees (see [2000] Gazette, 5 October, 1).

While I have considerable respect and admiration for Kerry Underwood, it seems he can afford to stand apart from the average high street practice specialising in personal injury if the recent publicity about his firm's investment of 390,000 in TV advertising is true.

For those of us who cannot afford to compete with Claims Direct and other referral agencies, there is little doubt that unless we join one or other of their panels, we might as well shut up shop, since the days of the introduction of new clients by word of mouth or an ad in Yellow Pages or the local newspaper are long gone.

There was a time when solicitors did not need to advertise their services and to do so was regarded as beneath their dignity.

The expression 'if you cannot beat them join them', seems to be the only way to survive.

In my town, those potential personal injury claimants who have not succumbed to the adverts on television, are being rounded up by referral agencies' permanent trailers and caravans and diverted to solicitors practising in areas far away from their local habitat.

Sadly, it is necessary to recognise the reality that, aside from mega wealthy firms like Underwoods, there is no alternative but to become part of what Mr Underwood rightly describes as multi-million pound organisations in advertising and marketing.

Louis Brody, Louis Brody & Co, Rochdale, Lancashire