Gordon Addison, a solicitor with Nelsons in Falkirk, says the infighting amongst the solicitor branch over the Legal Services Bill plays into the hands of critics of the profession, and calls for unity as the debate hots up.

I have been watching and considering the ABS debate with some interest, not least of which is my personal one.

I can t help feeling that the whole idea of a "profession" which may , firm by firm, become beholden to non professional colleagues is fundamentally wrong. However the rot set in when incorporation began and the legal profession began to reap the benefits of the limited liability and tax breaks that came with that development. As other professions were likewise swallowed up in the world of commerce - opticians and dentists spring to mind - ours was unlikely to be immune.

That the Scottish Government has begun and almost completed its statute to bring about the change further enforces my view that the current debate and divisive bickering is too little , too late. Whether we like it or not our profession is represented by solicitors, who give up their (no doubt) precious time to look after us. The Law Society of Scotland is the one body that is recognised by the Scottish Government and its civil service to do just that.

When we are all facing the harsh economic realities of the effects of the recession and the property crash it is unfortunate . to say the least, that there is so much infighting and bitterness when we should be gathering our resources and developing a strategy to protect our clients interests and therefore our own.

It is akin to a clan gathering in a time of war. We may all have separate , distinct views. But in our mutual interests can't we put them aside and get behind our leadership to fight the big battle? We can resolve the less significant skirmishes in private later. Otherwise our already tarnished reputation is just assisting those who seek to belittle our professional status and our often privileged commercial position. They - whoever they are- are just dividing us and that usually results in defeat for the splintered force.

I am no apologist for the Law Society as anyone who knows me will tell you, but right now they are best placed to organise that which we have left, to mitigate the damage caused, both self inflicted and incurred by the statute which might effectively open up control of the Scottish legal profession to all and sundry. (an odd move by a nationalist government seeking independence anyway!)

Gordon Addison
Solicitor