Sterling Fellows

Since subscribing to the Gazette at the beginning of the year, not once have I found mention of legal executives, yet the Institute of Legal Executives states that it is proud that its members are considered to be 'the third arm of the legal profession'.

I know that as a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives, though having a lower charging rate, I do exactly the same work as solicitors involved in the same field, that is, probate and Court of Protection work, and that I undertake exactly the same duties, bring in a large amount of fees, and seem to be highly respected within my firm.

Having studied hard and passed exams in this area, I cannot see that in any way solicitors consider us to be the third arm of the law.

I would be interested to hear comments from readers as to whether they consider members of the institute in this way as it appears that our views are never taken into