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The Law Society should be, as it was in the past, the professional body representing solicitors. This effectively means it as a trades union, but the obfuscation around trades unions in past years (as not relating to professional bodies) meant the Law Society felt able to straddle the gap between its trades union role and its regulatory role. This was always an unhappy combination, now historical, and this proposal is long overdue.

Let the SRA regulate to its heart's content, and let the Law Society have the independence and credibility to advocate for the interests of solicitors and their clients, without regard for the shibboleths which the SRA is mandated to espouse. No-one can serve two masters, not even a clever lawyer.