It would be a shame if readers obtained a misleading impression as a result of your recent news article on the Legal Service Commission's preferred supplier pilot (see [2004] Gazette, 21 October, 4).


I was one of three speakers from preferred supplier firms at the pilot event on 13 October. The tenor of each speech was generally to emphasise the substantial value of being part of the pilot and the progress made thus far. There is, of course, room for improvement and my speech emphasised the need to concentrate on the 'big picture' financial issues, but I am afraid that your headline and somewhat selective quote give a misleadingly critical picture of what is one of the most progressive and important developments in the area of publicly funded work for some years.



Stephen Hewitt, Fisher Meredith, London