The present writer holds no brief to attack the profession of the solicitor: quite the contrary. But he is compelled to admit that he has found many solicitors guilty of “dirty tricks” (for which there are no punishments) towards their clients. “Dirty tricks,” a vulgar but exactly expressive term, may be said to represent those acts in which a man of honour or ordinary decency, even, could not indulge. To cite some actual examples:--Deceitfully obtaining a signature charging certain property with an exaggerated bill of costs on the tacit understanding that a loan is to be the result; getting possession of papers under a false pretext, where the circumstances are such that no remedy exists in law for their recovery; disclaiming a telephone message because its dispatch cannot be established in a subsequent action; denying the receipt of a client’s funds until threatened with the police. These and dozens of other somewhat similar occurrences come to mind with clearness. That they are repeated daily all over the country is almost indisputable. Petty deceit and meanness are qualities which are to be found in a flourishing state in many solicitors’ offices. A straightforward and reputable solicitor would be the first to admit as much. There is some satisfaction in knowing that there are still many of the latter type left, though mischance often brings a client into contact with the opposite variety, to his cost. In suggesting that counsel should be enabled to advise a client without the intervention of a solicitor, the writer is influenced by the greater practical benefit of such a change. That branch of legal business which is now in the keeping of the solicitors might remain so; the system of carrying out the office work side of a case would therefore be on the present basis. But, while the two professions could continue to perform their accustomed functions, the alternative for a client to approach counsel direct should be approved and sanctioned. A freer atmosphere and greater scope would be bestowed upon junior counsel if he were able to receive his clients as a medical practitioner receives his patients.