That the Trainee Solicitors Group (TSG) is reporting an increase in the number of members complaining about the poor quality of their training - ranging from poor communication to bullying - is sadly not surprising.Like England football fans, it gets harder and harder to say that it is just a tiny minority that perpetuates bad behaviour.

The evidence from the TSG and SolCare, the solicitors' support group, is that such incidences among trainee and young solicitors are on the rise - some sound like they come from the pages of a Dickens novel.The numbers are still relatively small, and yes, maybe it is just a case of living in a culture where making such admissions is more acceptable.

But the fact remains that these incidences do exponentially more harm to the profession, whether it be through bad publicity, discouraging law students or warping the sufferers' perceptions of the profession as a whole.

The pressure on many practices of all sizes grows by the day: small firms struggle with legal aid pay freezes and tighter margins; some large firms which have recently hiked their pay for assistants in response to fierce competition are similarly raising their billing targets.

But ultimately, these are reasons, not excuses.After all, it is not as if there is a large pool of law students desperate for the chance to join the profession.

Last year, 4,627 students passed the legal practice course (LPC).

At the same time, there were 4,827 training contracts registered with the Law Society.

Worse still, there are 2,500 unfilled LPC places.Of course, most law firms provide trainees with a varied and challenging start to their legal working life.

The Law Society is doing its bit to crack down on those who do not, by overhauling the much-maligned monitoring system.Law firms should not need telling that they should not mistreat young lawyers, who are not just cut-priced cannon fodder for an overworked office.

But some do.

If a firm cannot offer proper training, better that it does not try.