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When did clients devolve into "consumers"? Lawyers are more than simple merchants, and the lawyer-client relationship is far more important than say, buying a pair of shoes. The years of legal study and training, the evaluation of character fitness and trustworthiness, all backed up by a regulatory regime and PII requirements that protect the public from those who would/could take advantage of the unsophisticated should be marks of distinction for those of us who have earned the privilege of assisting the public in interpreting the law and in the delivery of justice, quite apart from the High Street shoe seller The consistent choice of the word "consumers" to mean clients is a troubling reflection of the view now being promoted that only lower prices matter, and the legal profession seems to be on the way to having its stature continuously reduced to that of common merchants. As Solicitors we have not done very well at defending ourselves!