New will-writing club makes no difference to man on the street

So the Law Society has taken no notice of its members and has gone ahead with the Will Writing and Inheritance Quality Scheme (WIQS). Yet again the name 'solicitor' is being diluted in '¨the community.

Recently it was inappropriately said by Law Society chief executive Des Hudson that "it is not enough just to be a solicitor". The Law Society's attitude over the years is to build in more and more regulation and provide more and more clubs for solicitors to have to join so they can supposedly maintain market credence. More fees are charged to an overburdened profession to fund these clubs that make little or no difference to the man on the street.

WIQS allows unqualified lawyers to offer legal services through an ABS vehicle and claim the credence of SRA regulation. That is unacceptable.

There seems to be some misguided conception that by giving the consumer a choice of allowing unqualified providers of legal services to compete with solicitors is acceptable. It is not.

The price and the annual rigour of obtaining indemnity insurance is the greatest deterrent to complacency in all aspects of a solicitor's work.

Therefore, suggesting that firms become members of a will-writing club with more regulation and fees is misguided and unnecessary.

The Law Society should robustly defend the profession of the solicitor and not allow this continuous dilution of its significance.