LLS BLOG: Charlie Jones on what it means to be a solicitor
I HAVE a Chambers Etymological English Dictionary. I have had it since 16 September 1968, my first fearful week at grown up school.
It defines the verb solicit ( inter alia ).........: to incite, to petition, to importune, to plead for, to invite to immorality................
A Solicitor is one who asks earnestly, one who is legally qualfied to act for another in a Court of Law_ lawyer who prepares deeds, manages cases, instructs Counsel in the superior Courts, and acts as an Advocate in the inferior Courts.
The legal dictionary (Osborn's Concise Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition, to be precise) defines our profession in rather more detailed terms, and what we once did was consolidated in The Solicitors Act 1974.
But the question is, is 'Solicitor' the correct word ? Have we not changed in what we do from Gannons Law? Are we still all like Vholes in Bleak House? Are we ' ..........ever so humble ' , like Uriah Heep ? Do we have a direct link to the world's allegedly oldest profession?
In the words of Micawber..............In Short............ Is Solicitor the correct name for us some centuries after it was first coined? Should we rebrand ? Would the public welcome a rebranding ? Would it enhance our reputation? Could we more accurately reflect what we do with a rebranding ? Are we too traditional to rebrand?
I don't know, but I bet there some with views on this and I would be interested to hear them.
* Charlie Jones is president of Liverpool Law Society and a partner at Weightmans.
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Ben Schofield
Ben Schofield is the Liverpool Daily Post's legal affairs reporter
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