The Gazette 1974

We began by opening negotiations with publishers for the publication of a series of books which would explain the law in straightforward terms and would be designed for lay people. We employed the services of a literary agent, and the result was a new series of paperback books under the general title It's Your Law, published jointly by the Law Society and Oyez Publish- ing Limited. I took on the task of General Editor of the series, and wrote the first book, entitled : Before you See a Solicitor (6000 copies). This explains what a solicitor does, how he is trained and how he charges for his services. It even describes how people can solve some of their legal problems for themselves. Two other books in the series have now been pub- ished : The Police and the Law and The Company Director and the Law (3000 copies). Both of them have started selling well, and there are several other titles in the pipeline, for example : The Small Trader and the Law, The Homeowner and the Law, The Motorist and the Law, Children and the Law, Acci- dents and the Law, and so on. The books are designed for adults, or at least for college students. Equally important, we believe, is our schools educa- tional programme. This began two years ago when we decided to produce a set of four filmstrips explaining the European Economic Community. The filmstrips were designed for use in schools and colleges. The full kit consist of the four filmstrips, each accompanied by a gramophone record (or a cassette tape) and some teach- ing notes. In each filmstrip a different aspect of the Community is described, and the role of the solicitor is explained in relation to contracts, the regulation of monopolies, the export of materials and so on. The European filmstrips have been successful, by which I mean that they have received good reviews and are selling well. Already the Law Society has received by way of royalties a sum exceeding two-thirds the original cost, and there is good reason to expect that the full amount invested will have been recouped within a reasonable time. This success has encouraged us to go further, and we have now completed four new filmstrips under the general title The Law of the Land. The first, entitled A Home of Your Own deals with buying a house. The second—together with teach- ing notes— Consumers and Contracts explains shop- pers' rights, particularly necessary following recent con- sumer legislation. The third and fourth strips are On the Road, and Marriage and the Family. They are already selling to the schools, and we hope to extend the series. In addition, a simple book for schools about the origins and the development of our law is being publi- shed, entitled The Living Law and we have plans to produce wallcharts, recorded talks and special kits with specimen documents such as a Will, a Hire Purchase Contract and a Tenancy Agreement. Although the Law Society is in each case providing the "seed" finance, our plan is to achieve by way of royalties at least as much money as we have invested. The Legal Aid Scheme As I am sure you know, the British public have benefited since 1949 from the Legal Aid Scheme. Since 1973, when the recent Legal Advice and Assistance Act came into effect, this scheme has been enlarged so that solicitors can be paid for giving advice and other help, whether or not a court action is involved. Unfortuna- tely, the rules relating to financial entitlements prevent many people with modest incomes from receiving the 149

Associated Television in Birmingham, and to provide a le gal commentary for BBC Radio 4 on the new Cr aze of streaking, p Mss Conferences important Yet effective public relations amounts to more than a re action to stimulus. So we are holding press con- er ences when we feel we have something important 0 sa y; we issue press releases when our Council, or ° Ur Standing Committee on Law Reform has recom- mendations to make to the Government of the day; a to we provide press lunches. Some of these lunches are organised so that specialist press correspondants ean meet a solicitor with particular knowledge of their ub ject. For example, the solicitor editor of Beaumont Air Law, Peter Martin, recently talked about his x Perience in dealing with the results of flying acci- ents - It had an excellent effect. c °Pecialist training for Radio and TV When it comes to the provision of solicitors to appear radio and television programmes, we came to the °nclusion that we should not only select them for the Purpose, but also give them specialist training. Using ^ °sed-circuit television facilities in a commercial studio, J" 1 " the services of a professional interviewer, we put Me 20 solicitors through their paces. A dozen of them thought to be good enough to merit training, t i they have received. All are now appearing on evision and radio programmes in their own areas of p. e country; we have representatives in Newcastle, is] Vtoouth, Norwich, Manchester, Southampton, Carl- e > Cardiff, Swindon, Leeds, Birmingham and of | e U r s e London. When a matter of importance to the ^gal profession arises, we send out a detailed note—or e ^ le f to our trained colleagues, and they are able to 0 P re ss the profession's viewpoint to audiences through- u t the country. gjLtoturally we are also in close touch with the a U's national networks of Radio and Television. I in .tunate enough to be one of those who take part 0 j their programmes, but I work closely with a team 0 . ex Perienced colleagues, for it is not desirable that y one voice or face should be identified with the , ession. In a single year we are involved in literally t , toreds of nationwide broadcasts. I cannot quantify effectiveness of all this work, but I can tell you that 0 j e demand steadily increases, and that the members a ° u r own Law Society are pleased with the increased ^ °unt of attention that the profession is receiving. t h 7 0vy n feeling is that the more involved we are with j Mass media of television, radio and the press, the ter the public will understand what solicitors do. 1 his is the real point. We are not interested in the Sgressive "selling" of solicitors'' services; there is no t |^ ln t in trying to persuade the public to accept services a a t they do not want. We are interested in achieving touch greater degree of public understanding of the of our profession. a bonal educational programme ^ o i n addition to the activities that I have already p bribed, we are setting out on a national educational K^ r amme. This programme is based on a simple p e l e f : that the better the law is understood by the top l ° u r c o u n t r y> t b e more the role of the practis- st r ' a wyer will be appreciated. This has become the t ac a to{?y of our public relations policy; now to the