The chairman of the Commerce & Industry (C&I) Group, Paul Gilbert, has lambasted the Law Society for failing to appreciate the importance of the in-house sector – and labelled the group's £12,600 annual grant as "pathetic".
Deriding the amount of the grant at the C&I Group annual dinner at the Savoy Hotel in London on Monday 1 February, Gilbert, head of legal at Cheltenham & Gloucester, said: "This isn't simply unfortunate. This isn't simply an oversight. This is crass stupidity." Gilbert warned the Law Society of the threat that in-house solicitors might give up their practising certificates.
"What the Law Society has to realise – and it must realise it quickly – is that if it is not prepared to support the sector appropriately, then the sector may look to support itself," he said.
In a wide-ranging speech, Gilbert stressed the pivotal role of the in-house sector, which now represents 10% of the profession.
"In-house lawyers are now the major purchasers of legal services in this country, placing millions of pounds into the pockets of solicitors in private practice up and down the land – big practice, small practice, high street, multi-national," he said.
Gilbert called on the Law Society to "take a lead on the work we do".
He said he was baffled by the profession's preoccupation with high street domestic conveyancing.
"If conveyancing was a product line, it would have been upgraded or discontinued years ago," he said.
"If it was a car, it would be a Trabant. If it was food, the sell-by date would make it a health risk."
A Law Society spokesman said Chancery Lane had firm commitment to the in-house sector. He added: "The Law Society has just given the C&I Group more than £20,000 for a specific consultancy project.
"We would look favourably on further requests for funding."