§ Order for Second Beading read.
§ 10.5 p.m.
§ The ATTORNEY-GENERAL (Sir Thomas Inskip)I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."
This is a Bill to prohibit bodies corporate from purporting to act as solicitors. The Solicitors Act makes it an offence for a person who has not a practising certificate to act or purport to act as a solicitor. A short time ago a company was formed which, whatever subsidiary purpose it had, was to carry out the acts of a solicitor, and it was held by Mr. Justice Avory and two other learned judges that a body corporate could not commit an offence against Section 46 of the Act. This Bill is necessary to prevent persons from imitating the activities of the body corporate in this case, and bodies formed to carry on the work of a solicitor will be amenable to the law as in the case of a private person. It is obviously undesirable that the responsible work of solicitors who, as the House knows are officers of the court amenable to certain disciplines should be in this position.
§ Question put, and agreed to.
§ Bill read a Second time, and committed to a Standing Committee.