I wonder whether the legal profession needs be too concerned about the plight of the Court of Appeal (see [2004] Gazette, 22 January, 5).

The court was and is enthusiastic in its support of the much-applauded Woolf civil court procedure.

From the provincial perspective where litigation is usually commenced in the county court, the new rules have just three tiny faults: they are long and complex; their judicial interpretation and application can be arbitrary and subjective; and they are hugely expensive to apply.

It is tempting to draw comparisons with the speed and relative cheapness of litigation pre-Woolf - but the fact is that only the poor, the rich, and litigants in person can afford to sue unless they are underwritten by solicitors who will not be paid if they lose.

Of these, only the rich and litigants in person are likely to reach the Appeal Court.

The 40% figure - the percentage of Appeal Court applications brought by litigants in person - could well be just a start.

Christopher Langdon, Young Coles & Langdon, Hastings