THE Attorney-General Jeremy Mathews yesterday published a plan to make the legal profession more consumer-orientated - but dodged a decision on ending barristers' monopoly in the higher courts.
His proposals, issued last March, had received 'clear public support', Mr Mathews said. Only one minor change out of the 40 he proposed would be dropped because of public opposition.
A number of the changes, including the abolition of scale fees for property conveyancing and allowing solicitors to set up businesses with other professions, will need legislation.
Others, including relaxing rules on lawyers' advertising and allowing the Law Society and Bar Association to investigate allegations of shoddy work by their members, will be done by the professional associations themselves.
Two legal bodies have already made some changes, including the Bar Association requiring members to take out professional indemnity insurance and the abolition of rules that required a QC to be supported by another barrister.
On his proposal, fiercely opposed by the Bar Association, to allow solicitors to appear in the High Court if they had passed additional advocacy tests, Mr Mathews said: 'There were strong arguments for the proposal. There were strong arguments against the proposal.' Denying he had been unable to reach a decision, a public opinion poll and studies of overseas legal systems would be made and a final decision made 'within five months', he said.