Letters roundup: 27 May 2022

More action on judicial diversity

Just 1% of judges in England and Wales are Black and this figure has not changed since 2014, a fact which does not correspond with the lord chief justice’s assertion that progress on judicial diversity is ‘better than people might think’ . While the number of Asian judges has risen from 3% to 5% and mixed-race judges from 1% to 2% since 2014, there is much room for further progress.

While the pool of candidates is becoming increasingly diverse, this is not translating into appointments. The use of statutory consultation – which some have called ‘secret soundings’, when sitting judges provide private comments on candidates’ suitability – should end. It is potentially detrimental to applicants from non-traditional backgrounds, who are disproportionately likely to be unknown to the statutory consultee, and there is a problematic lack of transparency in decision-making.

While the Law Society remains fully committed to improving diversity within the solicitor profession, the Judicial Appointments Commission and the lord chief justice need to recognise the significant issues that exist within the judicial appointments process. They need to take concrete action to modernise that process to secure the long-awaited shift in the data and a judiciary that is more representative of the population it serves.

I. Stephanie Boyce

President, Law Society of England and Wales

Baptism of fire

I am greatly enjoying and empathise with Michael Simmons’ brilliantly evocative series recalling his treatment as an articled clerk in the 1950s. My articles at that time were more expensive as they cost £500, with no payment at all during my three-year term.

I was also greeted with a university put-down on my first day when a partner introduced me to the staff with the memorable warning in a strong Yorkshire accent: ‘Now we’ve got a new young lad from Cambridge and I want no bloody swearing in this office!’

Trevor Lyttleton MBE

London NW11

Making ends meet as an articled clerk

I am writing with regard to Michael Simmons’ reminiscences. I was an articled clerk between 1954 and 1959. I was placed in one of the first cohorts of families of moderate means able to take advantage of a grammar school education following the Butler Education Act of 1944.

I gained a decent number of O-levels but had to (successfully) retake Latin in the autumn of 1953. My father had arranged for me to be articled to the family solicitor in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, then a prosperous mining town. My principal was a ‘10-year man’, meaning he had served as a clerk for 10 years, so was not required to pass the Preliminary Examination and knew the difficulties of studying on limited means. He did not require a premium and fortunately the payment of £80 Stamp Duty on Articles had recently been abolished.

I received no wage, but the firm paid a decent bonus twice a year. That was a great help, as was the generosity of Nottinghamshire County Council in providing financial assistance when I attended the law tutors, Gibson and Weldon, in Chancery Lane in 1956 in preparation for the Intermediate Examination, and in 1959 for the Final. In London, I stayed at The Hillbrow Hotel in Bayswater, recommended as suitable accommodation. In 1956, it cost five guineas a week – as cheap as you could get and stay respectable. The class at Gibsons was about 30-strong and included one woman and two former grammar school pupils. Many in the class turned up in City suits with bowlers and rolled umbrellas, leaving me with a feeling of ‘imposter syndrome’ until the class test results placed me comfortably in the upper quartile.

My budget was so tight that I often walked to Chancery Lane to save the tube fare. Another problem was my deferment from National Service, which could be revoked on failure in the exams. This was a great inducement to avoid slacking. After qualifying and being admitted to the roll in 1959 I received my call-up but failed the medical – so for the first time in my life I was able to earn decent money.

Robert Ilett

Retford, Nottinghamshire

Putting people first

Culture change in the legal profession is long overdue, as highlighted by the Law Society and LawCare’s call for a change in working practices to tackle mental health. We all know that law is a stressful career but that does not mean we must persist in propagating a culture with echoes of an earlier era, defined by men bearing stiff upper lips. That is no longer what the profession looks like.

We have to reset the profession’s values. We have to be more innovative. Where is the training of management to enable them to manage a flexible workplace in a positive way? Where are the job shares and part-time workers? The heritage wrapped around the law is one of its glories. It is also arguably its greatest weakness. Structures that have stood for so long are crumbling in the 21st century and we have to move on and recognise the business benefits of putting people at the centre of what we do.

Dana Denis-Smith

Founder and CEO, Obelisk Support, London WC2

Solicitor name game

I entirely agree with Richard Snow’s letter demanding that the Law Society should object to the proposal of the SRA to make it a requirement that retired solicitors should pay a fee to remain on the roll of solicitors.

They should also find a way to remove the prohibition against retirees describing themselves as solicitors. I understand entirely the need to protect the public from those setting up a practice without a practising certificate or PI insurance. However, it is absurd to apply that principle to a situation when, in reply to an enquiry as to his former occupation, a retired solicitor cannot reply to the effect that he is a solicitor. A reply along the lines of ‘I used to be a solicitor’ leaves the impression that one has been struck off.

Stuart Ross

Wail, France