Merger poses no threat

Your article on our merger ('Merger Strengthens Chancery Set' 23 January 1996) was well researched and I am grateful to you for the lineage you have afforded these chambers.

The amalgamation of these two sets of Chancery chambers, together with the wholesale improvement in its administrative and communication systems, will provide us with the facilities to serve our clients in a more efficient manner.

What I find puzzling is the odd comment from that most distinguished and respected senior clerk Mr Ron Beazley. I fully appreciate that modern chambers exist in a commercial and competitive environment and this is why 10 Old Square has evolved into a large, friendly and approachable set.

The merger was never intended to be a threat to any other Chancery set and it saddens me that any negative view may have been taken by such an esteemed colleague.

The Bar relies on the quality of the service it provides. A well-run set of chambers containing able and amiable practitioners can do little else other than maintain and expand on the goodwill it already enjoys.

Surely such a set of chambers is good for the perception of the profession as a whole and not just for the image of that particular set.

Keith Plowman

Clerk to chambers.