The Legal Services Commission is clearly getting into the spirit of 2012. In recent months bills to the LSC have been returned and the travel time claimed has progressively been reduced.

Our office is situated just over 1.5 miles from Bristol County Court. Many fee-earners in the practice walk to court. We usually claim about 30 minutes to walk to the court and 30 minutes to return.

A few months ago, this travel time was reduced on assessment from 30 minutes each way to 18 minutes each way. Then we had a bill returned where only nine minutes each way was deemed reasonable.

We have now had a bill where the LSC assessed that it was reasonable to walk/run from our office in only five minutes; that is 10 minutes for the return trip.

Given that the solicitor in question was female and in her late-20s, to run from our office to Bristol County Court in less than five minutes would be to complete the distance in a time which is faster than the current world mile record.

In order to continue practising legal aid, we all clearly need to put on our running shoes!

Beverley Watkins, Watkins Solicitors, Bristol