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Legal Services Bill [HL]

My Lords, I declare my interest as a partner in the national commercial law firm, Beachcroft LLP, the holder of a current practising certificate from the Law Society as a solicitor and the other entries in the register. I thank my noble friend for raising the very important issue of quality. Indeed, Sir David Clementi raised this factor right at the outset in his review of the legal profession when he said that the services must remain of the highest possible quality. I agree with my noble friend Lord Kingsland that Clause 1 is beginning to take shape. It is a considerable improvement on the original Clause 1, and I am very grateful to the Minister for the way in which she has accepted a number of suggestions made by the Joint Select Committee, which I had the honour to chair. However, there is still this nagging doubt about quality. We will, of course, deal with this issue when we discuss some of the later amendments, but we look to the Minister for some reassuring words about the quality of legal services and the standing of the legal profession, so I support the amendment in the name of my noble friend Lord Campbell of Alloway.