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Legal Services Bill [HL]

The Minister talked about investors. We had some discussion about who will want to put their money into an experiment that will last, say, five years. That is a real consideration. Are we losing sight of the consumer? We have heard from the noble Lord, Lord Thomas, and others that one factor in the relationship between a client and his or her solicitor is that it is continuing. It would be very odd to go into one of these pilot schemes and say, ““I want you to draw up my will, and we very much hope that, if there is a death, you will take on the administration of the estate””, and get the answer: ““Well, I cannot really tell you whether we will be here in more than five years. We are on an experimental scheme””. I am not trying to sabotage what the noble Baroness is talking about, but we need to think not only of the investors and those setting up experimental firms but of the clientele.