I have never understood why solicitors were ineligible as jurors - legal executives are not, and I do not see why a practising certificate should hold any special magic.

I have been out of private practice for ten years, and even when I was in practice I never dealt with criminal work, save as a vacation student.

So where was the conflict? I see the move as part of the sweeping away of the restrictive and unjustified rules that make us look so odd in the eyes of the public.

Edward Austin, solicitor, Wrekin Group, Shifnal, Shropshire