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So someone in business has a legal problem but doesn't know who to go to to talk about it and is daunted by the prospect that the costs might be prohibitive-and from this we can discern that the system is broken. Haven't they heard of the telephone and cant they ring around and asking for a price?
We aren't social workers. We are, mostly SMEs ourselves yet we manage to run our offices, undertake marketing, comply with regulations and bureaucracy and deal with all sorts of issues by engaging other SME's eg plumbers, electricians, office supplies, IT support etc without too much trouble.
I have a hole in my shoe. I don't know who to go to because I don't fully understand the issue and I fear the cost of repair. My feet are wet. I could buy new shoes but I have no idea how much they will cost-so I don't bother.

Why don't the FSB stop whinging-for that's what they are doing-and get a nationwide panel of solicitors and accountants together to offer fixed price initial advice covering two hours work? That will fix it.
Or, if they have a website or regular newsletters, why not let solicitors and accountants advertise on it what services they offer? Or why doesn't the FSB operate a call centre so that its members can ring and get advice about the difference between a solicitor and an accountant and the sort of fees that a solicitor will charge to give initial advice or even give initial advice for free?

Why should I or anyone else who is a solicitor care if an SME owner cannot work out how to find out how much legal advice might cost? Why should I part fund their search for a solution by not charging the correct fee but by charging a partial fixed fee, just to keep the SME owner happy?

If I wanted their work I imagine I would advertise my services to that market, use direct marketing to let them know I exist and what I can do for them. I would advertise in a trade or association magazine. I would remind my existing SME clients of all the services I undertake and ask them to tell their SME friends. My website would contain this information and a call to action and a variety of contact methods-phone, email, chat, facebook, linkedin.

My firm doesn't offer "legal advice" to SMEs-but we do undertake commercial conveyancing at a fixed price. When someone rings or emails or otherwise contacts us and asks how much we charge we tell them and we explain why our service is better than our competitors-and we either get the work-or we don't. And that suits me fine.

But I won't, unless the SRA sets out for me the statutory authority by which they can order me to do it, publish my fees or engage in any price comparison site nonsense.

In the old days, I'm told that prostitutes in Belfast would sit in a bar with a price marked on the sole of their shoe for services on offer. They'd sit cross-legged and wave the foot about in such a way that those interested could glimpse the fee.

The SRA's plans are really not much better than this.

My clients are not consumers. I am not a provider. I don't run a shop. Even if the SRA has given up on the concept of Solicitors being a profession-I have not and will not.