Solicitors feeling the squeeze at both ends of the profession

Partners are delaying retirement because of recent cuts in pension saving for high earners, creating a bottleneck at the senior end of the profession, according to research by accountants Smith & Williamson.

Its 21st Annual Survey of the Professional Services Sector shows that more than half of the partners questioned expect a rise in the retirement age to affect opportunities for partner development and hence succession planning. The accountants also report that 90% of the 95 firms surveyed leave individual partners to organise their own retirement planning.

Mike Fosberry, director at Smith & Williamson, said: “It is in firms’ own interests to support partners in making personal financial arrangements.”

At the other end of the spectrum, the Law Society has expressed concern that a new qualifying exam, Solicitors Qualifying Examination, could result in lower standards and reduce access to the profession.

Jonathan Smithers, Law Society President, said access would only be increased if training providers developed cheaper and more flexible courses: “Our concern is that the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) consultation contains little detail on the proposed assessments.” He accused the SRA of “making piecemeal announcements to the profession on its proposals. This is unhelpful and causing grave concern.”

However, Paul Philip, SRA chief executive, said: “All parties agree there is a problem caused by an inability to measure standards across providers. What we are proposing is a single assessment that we think will ensure, for the first time, consistent high standards of entry into the profession, regardless of pathway into the profession. This is a high-level consultation and we want to hear from as many interested parties as possible on the key issues.”