Twenty questions

The legal profession is developing into the most analysed, investigated, probed, and generally picked-over in the country - if not the world.Accountants, doctors and teachers all come under scrutiny, but lawyers are being put under the microscope from every conceivable angle.This week alone we report on a phalanx of surveys and studies that address old and new issues alike - salaries, the status of women in the profession, the profitability of small and medium-sized firms and even the benefits of open-plan office space.

Only last week, we reported on research studying the financial management of law firms; there is an annual survey of the state of the bar; and not a month seems to go by without yet another survey of the use and effectiveness of conditional fee agreements.It is only a matter of time before researchers compile a list of lawyers' top 100 pop songs covering the past 40 years.So what's it all about? Clearly, the profession and the public have a voracious appetite for statistics and details about lawyers.

And if anything, all this interest demonstrates that, despite certain problems, the legal profession remains healthy and stimulating.But growing dissatisfaction over the time and money solicitors must spend compiling legal directories shows there is only so much law firms will take.

By the way, what's your favourite colour?