The Gazette 1974

to nr.me only a few vocations, fix their own fees to mset the exigencies of the moment. On top of this complex system of fixing Solicitors' fees, the Govern- ment in the latest Prices Act has provided that no Order made by any of the committees which I have referred to shall be effective, if it proposes to increase fees, unless sanctioned by the Minister for Industry and Commerce. His functions may in turn be dele- gated to any other Minister—probably, in the case of our profession, to the Minister for Justice. The Council have had discussions with the Minister for Justice and his officials about the methods of fixing Solicitors' fees as far back as 1969 when their repre- sentatives were then received by Mr. O'Morain, the last predecessor but one of the present Ministers. The Society's representatives pointed out the time-wasting and complex systems of dealing with applications for increases under the present system. No fair-minded person can maintain that in a climate of continuing inflation of prices—now in the region of 10% per annum—Solicitors' charges should be subject to a stand- still order while all other costs and fees, including the overhead expenses of running offices, of which salaries and wages are a major factor, rise with the annual wage rounds or national wage agreements. Other professions, Medicine, Accountancy, Consulting En- gineers, Motor Asse~sors, Surveyors, and others with whom our profession is in constant contact and on which it depends for consultancy and co-operation adjust their fees to meet the circumstances of the day. It is the experience of the Council that Solicitors' charges for Court business and non-contentious busi- ness under Schedule 2 are dealt with only after arduous preparations, prolonged consideration and, where Ministerial consent is necessary, long delay. The Coun- cil have not made any application for an increase in the mortgages since the present scales were fixed in 1947 taking this view that where a charge is calculated as a commission on the value of the property passing the increase in the value of the property provides an auto- matic increase in the fees received. However, in the case of Solicitors' fees this is qualified by the over-riding consideration that the commission scale, unlike that of many other professions and occupations is regressive, falling steeply to a maximum of 19% and as low as 0.35p per £100 of value on the part of the considera- tion increasing more than £10,000. Other professions I need not go into detail, charge a flat commission scale which does not decline with the value of the property. As property values increase and with the increase, the responsibility and risk of the Solicitor, the average rate of his remuneration falls. One should also have regard to the fact that the continual changes in our legal system, which is apparent from the volume of legisla- tion with which the profession has to deal, impose great demands on Solicitors' time, and with it the work involved in attending to clients' affairs and the ex- penses of running a Solicitor's practice. The Council therefore, proposed to the then Minister for Justice, Mr. O'Morain that a Central Costs Com- mittee should be set up which would include members of the Judiciary, representatives of the profession, and experts such as Chartered Accountants which would be empowered to renew Solicitors' fees and expenses at frequent intervals having regard to the current index of prices and other relevant factors. It was suggested that such a high-powered com- mittee should have executive and not merely advisory powers and the Society for the first time in history of 5

mission to a profession is invariably dependent on a minimum standard of general education. This must be followed by a prescribed period of professional educa- tion and training laid down either by Statute or by the rules of the professional body to which the Student submits. In order to conform, a university degree is in many cases a necessary condition of admission to the profession. Admission also depends on passing pre- scribed examinations and tests. Members admitted to the profession are identifiable from a roll or register. Lastly, in all professions worthy of the name, there are recognised standards of conduct and ethics designed to ensure that professional service will be maintained at a proper recognised standard, and that the interests of the client will take precedence over the material in- terests of the practitioner. It is a recognised mark of a profession that where there is any likelihood of a con- flict of interest between the practitioner and the client, the professional relationship must be terminated. Criticism of the Profes:ion If my preceding remarks seem to some of you to resemble the annual statement made in addressing students about to enter our profession, rather than a body of mature practitioners to whom these principles a re already familiar, it is not without reason. Anyone w h o reads the daily press and periodicals and indeed the work of more serious authors must be aware of the growing attitude of criticism towards all professions including our own. In one sense it is natural that pro- fessional men should not be popular or at least that they should be expected to justify their existence as a Privileged elite. George Bernard Shaw was only the successor of Dickens and other popular writers when he described the professions as a conspiracy against the Public. Shaw's particular "bete noire" was the medical profession. Possibly the fact that he was a vegetarian was symptomatic of this attitude! This attitude of critical scrutiny of professional status and practice has been shown in this country by the Restrictive Practices Act 1972 which for the first time brought professional services within the scope of the Fair Trades Commission and subject to the same examination as the practices of trade and industry in the field of monopoly and what are regarded as restric- tive practices. We must be prepared to meet this chal- tenge whenever it comes. Representatives of the Council were received by the Minister and officials of the De- partment of Industry and Commerce when the legisla- tion was being drafted. It was clearly stated for the yepartment that the fact that a professional practice is restrictive does not necessarily mean that it is unfair. e hope to show that the long standing practices of o u r profession, some sanctioned by statute or statutory re Sulation, others by long-standing usage and opinions °f the Council, and often confirmed by Judicial e cisions of the Courts, are necessary to preserve pro- essional standards and the interests of our clients. So Jicitors 'Fees Central Costs Committee I he Prices (Amendment) Act 1972 introduces an entirely new concept into the existing systems of regulat- Solicitors' fees. As far as I know our profession ares with taxi-cab drivers the distinction of being the oiy occupations whose charges are not self-controlled, r e a r e in the rather invidious position of having our . e cs controlled by five or six different committees acting uependently without any communication or means of , 1 g a t i ng the economics of professional practice as a ft °le. Accountants, Auctioneers, Medical practitioners,