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F Parkinson, 28 February:

"I recall a time when ANY solicitor was proud, willing and able to represent any "walk or phone through" client who needed criminal representation before magistrates".

Really? I don't, and I started doing criminal law back in 1978. Even in those days plenty of firms in my part of London declined to do criminal work as it wasn't within their area of expertise and/or didn't fit with the type of clients they wanted to attract.

"Often this was done without ANY expectation of payment and with the genuinely noble motive of giving something back for the prosperity otherwise enjoyed from private practice in the local community".

Presumably in the days when local lawyers made a comfortable living out of conveyancing and probate, and solicitors, teachers and doctors were earning comparable amounts? Once solicitors were forced to become businesslike and percentage fees went out of the window, the amount of pro bono work went down - you simply couldn't afford to do as much for nothing.

"Criminal practitioners however were quite happy to collude with the government and police in turning criminal law practice into a closed shop".

I have no idea what this is referring to. Criminal solicitors, in common with other parts of the profession, have been required to demonstrate professional competence in order to be permitted to practice.

"for all their bemoaning of poverty .. you never saw a criminal lawyer on a bicycle!"

As a regular cyclist myself (I commute to work by bike), I would not want to go to court on a bike, as it tends to wreck my suit (especially if it's raining) , this detracts from my professional appearance and hence would do my clients no favours. When I worked in east London, however, I did get around on a Honda 90 scooterette. And outside London and the largest cities, you simply can't get to court or police stations by public transport in any reasonable time.

I really am struggling to relate these comments to my more than thirty years in the profession. We may wish that the legal world was the same as the 1960s, but it has been turned into another part of business by successive governments, and for the most part criminal firms are like small dairy farmers trying to negotiate a price for their milk with Tescos.