The Law Society has hit back at criticism from the bar over the ‘appalling’ standards of some solicitor-advocates, who it is alleged are keeping work for themselves for economic reasons rather than instructing barristers.

Law Society President Paul Marsh said the comments were ‘exactly what you would expect from a profession that is failing to deal with competition’.

He said there was no evidence of poor levels of advocacy by solicitors. The bar’s decision to make such allegations in the press rather than by complaint to the regulator suggested they could not be substantiated, Marsh said.

‘Solicitor-advocates have to pass a demanding test in order to exercise higher rights of audience, whereas there is no quality assurance at the bar at all,’ Marsh added.

His remarks followed claims by Peter Lodder QC, chairman of the Criminal Bar Association, that some ‘truly appalling’ solicitor-advocates, with very limited experience, were taking on serious trials for which they were unfit.

Speaking at the Bar Council’s annual conference last weekend, bar chairman Tim Dutton QC said: ‘Neither side of the profession can let standards slip, no matter what the exigencies of modern financial pressure or the fact that we are heading into a recession.’

Roy Morgan, solicitor-advocate and chairman of the Legal Aid Practitioners Group, said there were instances where solicitors had taken on cases they should not have, but with the economic pressure due to legal aid cuts this was ‘inevitable’.

Michael Caplan QC, a solicitor-advocate, called for calm and mutual respect. ‘On mature reflection, I am sure that the criminal bar will appreciate the importance of working together with solicitors and to refrain from descending further into what many will see as divisive comments,’ he said.