HC Deb 18 July 1933 vol 280 cc1723-4

Amendments made: In page 21, line 24, leave out the words "law agents,"and insert instead thereof the word "solicitors."

In line 29, leave out the word "agent,'' and insert instead thereof the word "solicitor."

In line 31, leave out the word "agent,"and insert instead thereof the word "solicitor."

In line 34, leave out the word "of,"and insert instead thereof the word "the."—[The Lord Advocate.]

5.35 p.m.

Mr. J. REID

I beg to move, in page 21, line 35, to leave out from the word "agent"to the end of the Sub-section.

It has been represented to me and to other Members of the House, by certain solicitors practising in the country in Scotland and dealing, as they must in connection with court work, with solicitors in Edinburgh, that the present arrangements are being upset unnecessarily. When the Solicitors Bill, which has just became law, was in Committee, the matter was left quite open, and solicitors in the country and in Edinburgh could make such bargains about sharing fees as they felt inclined to make. It is now provided that there shall be four limitations. As regards the first two, I do not think anyone takes any exception. They are, first, that the share which may be paid shall not exceed one-third; and, secondly, that the client shall be informed of the arrangement; but the third and fouth, which I desire to leave out, limit the power of agents to deal with each other in a manner for which, I must say, I do not quite see the reason, and I would like to know whether the Government could not consider making only the first two conditions, particularly in view of the fact that the matter was not raised at all on the Solicitors Bill, where it would have been much more germane. One cannot quite see how far these other two limitations may go. They seem to impinge very much on the present arrangements, under which, in many cases, I am informed, the proportion of one-third includes the matters which are struck out in paragraphs (iii) and (iv), so that the present arrangement, to which no serious objection has been taken in the past, will be somewhat considerably modified.

Mr. DEPUTY-SPEAKER (Captain Bourne)

Does any hon. Member second the Amendment?

Amendment not seconded.

Amendments made: In page 21, line 35, leave out the word "agent,"and insert instead thereof the word "solicitor."

In line 37, leave out the word "agent,"and insert instead thereof the word "solicitor."

In page 22, line 1, leave out from the word "Section,"to the word "in,"in line 2, and insert instead thereof the words "forty-one of the Solicitors (Scotland) Act, 1933."

In line 3, leave out the words "law agents,"and insert instead thereof the word "solicitors."—[The Lord Advocate.]