Anthony King says that 'it is about time that legal aid practitioners and the legal profession as a whole was given the respect it deserves' (see [2000] Gazette, 31 May, 16).The sad but inescapable fact is that both are given exactly the respect they deserve.

None at all.

Respect is rarely given, it has to be earned.

It is no use bleating about grossly inadequate rates of pay whilst continuing to accept them.If firms are willing to spend thousands of pounds obtaining a legal aid franchise and are then prepared to accept the rates of pay and onerous conditions imposed by it, they cannot be surprised if people believe the rates of pay offered must be acceptable.

Their thinking must be that only a fool would be prepared to make that kind of investment in time and expense for no return.Our own firm came, extremely reluctantly, to the conclusion that we would not apply for any legal aid franchise for two reasons: the investment was not and almost certainly never would be worth the return; and we were not prepared slavishly to follow a 'tick the boxes' method of providing legal services, which is an insult to the skill, application and professionalism of solicitors.If we do not respect ourselves, no one else will respect us.

Like any other client, if the Community Legal Service (CLS) does not wish to pay what we are worth, then it must take its custom elsewhere.

It seems to me that the CLS in offering the rate of pay it does is inviting a barely adequate service from those willing to provide it for those who have to depend upon it.Those firms who do give top-level service for legal aid rates can only be commended for their charitable works.

But they will soon disappear.

Then where will the public be when they need legal help? In the hands of form-ticking juniors in threatening-letter factories?The notion that solicitors will gratefully accept whatever we are given has made the profession a laughing stock.

The so-called legal aid go-slow is roughly the equivalent of saying: 'If you don't give me more, I might poke myself in the eye with a very sharp stick before offering abject surrender.

Then you'll be sorry!'Don't go slow - stop.

If our profession were to fight half as hard for itself as it fights for its clients, then respect would not be 'given' but justly earned.Peter Heath, Heath Martin, Coventry