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I had to laugh at this latest pompous lunacy from the LSB. But I can afford to do so, as I packed in practice a couple of years ago after over 30 years at the coal face and set up as a legal consultant.

It was by far the best move I ever made. I can do two thirds of the work I used to do, but my charging rate is half what it was. And believe it or not my profits have more than doubled, as I no longer have ruinous PI premiums, audit fees, practising certificates, CPD and all the other joys of practice.

But far better than anything is the freedom from the madness of regulation. I don't have to send out 10 page `client care letters' that give the strong impression of treating the client as a fraudster, and which we both know go straight in the bin.

I no longer have to write stupid letters to clients setting out the bleedin' obvious at tedious length, and it’s been immensely liberating for both myself and my clients to be able once again to treat them like responsible adults instead of rather backward children.

In other words I've recaptured what it used to be like to be a professional person 50 years ago, where you respect the client and they respect you and your relationship is all about trust rather than contract.

So my commiserations to all you solicitors who I know are doing your best in increasingly awful circumstances. I know from my own experience that the vast majority of solicitors are genuinely decent people who want to help their clients, but you have let yourselves be steam-rollered by civil servant type idiots who haven't the faintest idea what the realities of practice are.

Someone in this thread suggested telling them to get stuffed and just refuse to comply with these latest rules. It's good advice, and I commend it to the House!