Can someone tell me what is the point of being a solicitor? To get a practising certificate, years of study and financial hardship must be endured. Those who survive struggle to get a training contract. Those that eventually get the coveted practising certificate then join one of the most stressful types of employment, which demands the longest working hours in the highest-regulated profession in the country.

Why? Historically, only a solicitor could convey property. We lost that privilege years ago.

Only a solicitor could prepare wills. We lost that.

Only a solicitor could represent defendants in court. That too is gone.

OK. So we could swear people to affidavits and, despite it being worth £4.35 plus VAT, we’ve lost that privilege as well.

What about status and respect in the eyes of the public? I will let you decide. I repeat, can someone please tell me what is the purpose or benefit of being a solicitor?

Trevor F Moore, solicitor and notary, Ibstock, Leicestershire