Archive move is not dispruptive

It is a brave layman who seeks to reach the letters page of The Lawyer. It is an even braver move to challenge the accepted wisdom of firms of repute such as Dibb Lupton Alsop.

However, the idea that closing down a hopelessly uneconomic production line for microfiche in central London and substituting four times-a-day delivery from Cardiff will somehow bring the legal work of the City to its knees is hard to sustain (The Lawyer, 30 August).

I suppose there are a few hypothetical people who show up at the office, want the deal done in an hour, and then jump back into the executive jet. But for most, a little pre-planning should be possible. After all, Companies House still offers microfiche in central London on a four-hour turnaround.

And this can readily be supplemented by access to all the latest documents at the touch of a computer key, on-screen in City offices via Companies House Direct. This database contains 20m documents and 90m images, and a complete record for the last four-and-a-half years.

Please also bear in mind that it can take up to five days to process documents on to the system. And since we supply them, that goes for anyone else's system too. So "due diligence" is still required if a truly up-to-the-minute picture is of the essence.

John S Holden, chief executive and registrar of companies, Companies House

As a solicitor who joined Argles & Court before Michael Rowlands left and met him on a couple of occasions, I am curious what he means by "far better work" in the context of family law (The Lawyer, 30 August). Is he suggesting that there are different grades of family problems? If so, what are his criteria. I am surprised that the head of a family law department should make such a suggestion. In these days when the judiciary and professional bodies are encouraging the profession to serve its clients and accept its place as a service industry is such an attitude acceptable? I am a PI solicitor and am more than satisfied with the quality of work at Argles & Court.



Tony Merriman, Argles & Court