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Interesting thoughts, Joihn N, and I shall take time to reflect on them. I had not fully appreciated the morphing of self-regulation into top down SRA, total regulation. It was said on Any Questions by 'Two Brains', now Lord Willetts, in the 2000's that with all the legislation now being passed "soon every human activity will either be compulsory, or alternatively a criminal offence". E g putting your house up for sale was a crime if you did not have a HIP. Society has become micro-managed to the nth degree. What has become of self-discipline, or local knowledge and pressure? When I first began I was soon told, or found out, who the local 'dodgy' solicitors were. Now I don't even know who all the local solicitors are.

But you address the concerns of the victim and his right to a professional regulatory hearing. Surely a part of the disciplinary process is deterrence, isn't it? And in the case of a profession is it not also to show to the general public that we come down like a ton of bricks, and do so immediately, when one of our number falls by the wayside? How else are we to preserve our professional esteem in the eyes of the public?

"To no man shall we sell, to no man shall we deny or delay justice". I see an earlier post on here refers to over six month waiting time for SDT hearings. Surely that is an unacceptable delay?

A man once said that he knew Dorris Day "before she became a virgin". Personally for me once a solicitor has proved he is capable of dishonesty he can never recover "his virginity", it's lost and gone forever. And in the case of solicitors, unlike barristers, doctors, or dentists, a dishonest solicitor and a bank account containing £millions are like a can of petrol and a box of matches, one spark and the whole thing goes up. Immense repetitional damage to the profession can now be done at the press of a few keys on a computer.

So I had better stop there before I do any more. But thank you again for taking the trouble to reply at length to my points. Personally I cannot see now how we return to self-regulation having gone down the road of top down SRA total professional regulation. It would be like another Brexit. But it means for me that we are no longer a profession as you yourself appear to accept. And that is very sad indeed. And the biggest losers are the general public whom we once tried our best to serve and to serve well. Well 99+% of us did any way.