Solicitors are ‘in denial’ about the way they are viewed by clients, the outgoing chair of the Legal Services Consumer Panel told the Gazette in a parting shot at the profession this week.

Dianne Hayter (pictured) said she regretted that too many lawyers were unwilling to accept that their standards were not high enough.

The panel recently published research which it said indicated that less than 50% of the general public trusted lawyers. The Law Society challenged the way the study had been portrayed by the LSCP, emphasising that the findings were predominantly positive.

Hayter said: ‘I know some solicitors were deeply offended by this piece of research, but if the person running Sainsbury’s was told their customers were complaining, they would take it very seriously.

‘Solicitors didn’t look at this in the same way. They’re in denial and they don’t want to listen.

‘I’m not absolutely sure that lawyers understand they are on the same side as consumers. If they listened to their clients more they would deliver a better service.’

She denied that the consumer panel was ‘anti-solicitor’.

Hayter steps down from the panel next week because of commitments in the House of Lords. She will be replaced as chair by fellow panel member Elisabeth Davies, director of partner relations at charity Age UK.