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Back in the early '70s, I visited a number of firms with a view to seeing what was available in the way of articles (as they were called then). During my interview with one firm, they were at pains to point out that, in their view, the business of being a firm of solicitors was all about generating as much money as possible. I was grateful for their candour, as it meant I could steer well clear of the firm as one in which to work my articles (leading me to end up with a very fulfilling experience in another, much more enlightened firm).

I absolutely understand that a firm needs to generate the income needed to cover all its costs and provide the participants with reasonable remuneration, but a hard nosed drive for money at the expense of seeing the law as primarily an opportunity to derive satisfaction of purpose by providing a professional service to clients, whilst making enough to live comfortably on, is a recipe for tales of woe such as recorded here. The profession has enough of a challenge already persuading the general public that they are not just fat-cat rip-off merchants, without this kind of disgraceful episode bringing the profession into disrepute. Not helped at all by the mealy mouthed SRA bludgeoning the hapless individual solicitors involved into submission, whilst turning a blind eye to their firms, which are equally to blame.