By Paul Rogerson


The Law Society has reached an 'amicable' settlement with two QCs in a much-publicised dispute over copyright issues relating to the society's Code of Conduct. Precise details of the settlement have not been disclosed for contractual reasons.



In a general statement, the parties said that litigation between Andrew Hopper QC and Gregory Treverton-Jones QC and the society has been 'amicably resolved'.



The statement said: 'The Law Society and the authors of the Solicitor's Handbook, Andrew Hopper QC and Gregory Treverton-Jones QC, are delighted to announce the amicable resolution of their dispute over copyright issues relating to the reproduction in full of the society's Code of Conduct. The society will now publish the handbook, containing all the current professional rules, codes and regulations together with a critical examination of the regulatory regime governing solicitors' practice.'



Des Hudson, chief executive of the Law Society, commented: 'We are very pleased and we are looking forward to working with the authors on this project. We consider the handbook to be a valuable resource for our members and are strongly committed to it.'



Andrew Hopper said: 'We are delighted that this dispute has been resolved and we are working with the Law Society to get the handbook published and available to the profession.'



Gregory Treverton-Jones commented: 'I am excited at the prospect of a long and successful relationship with Law Society Publishing.'



As a result of the settlement, the publication will now contain the Code of Conduct in full and will be available to the profession from the Law Society by the end of May 2008.



The statement added: 'The Handbook has been written by two recognised leading practitioners and will provide insight on issues previously covered in the now defunct Guide to the Professional Conduct of Solicitors, the eighth and final edition of which was published in 1999. It will contain all the most important regulatory rules and regulations that affect solicitors, together with text from the authors which describes the practical reality of the regulatory and disciplinary world in which solicitors operate and discusses all of the relevant decided cases in the field.'