In his latest blog, Douglas Mill gives his opinion on the works of Richard Susskind.

I used to like Richard Susskind’s work. The Future of Law and The End of Lawyers are both on my bookshelves - and well-thumbed too. A bit of a guru 20 years ago. A bit of a broken gramophone record now.

Don’t just take it from me – The Sunday Times says so. Let me explain.

Susskind was brilliant on IT and the profession’s slowness to adapt. All good stuff in the mid-90s. We all thought him the bees knees. And a Glasgow boy to boot. Always nice to see one of ours done good.

Down south and the government lapped him up. His influence was seismic. And in fairness his stuff was all about the City and Magic Circles. Not Jocks in the Sticks. But sadly it became the lore up here, in a totally different jurisdiction. And why?

Well partly because he basically trashed high street solicitors. And that goes down ultra-well with politicians and civil servants. His thinking was taken hook line and sinker and resulted in,amongst things up here the quite wonderful Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2010.

Not remember that? Well,you are not supposed to. It’s the one where the rich boys in red braces patronised the High Street and told them they weren’t smart enough to run their own businesses. So, hey ho, ABS or NPL or whatever three-letter acronym you fancy.

Only one problem. The Act was total mince. Unimplementable and now unwanted/unneeded. Of the four big Scottish firms who mandated it through an unthinking and compliant Law Society of Scotland, two are now headquartered down south. And our old hyper- competent Civic Scotland is now pretending either that a fix is on its way or it didn’t exist at all. Emperor’s new chinos and all that.

So, a six-year-old bit of Holyrood legislation lying there as a tribute to the lack of judgement and understanding of its champions.

But the Good Richard remains undeterred. In his 2013 book, Tomorrow’s Lawyers he says, (check it out- p57),

“One person who formally reviewed my publication proposal for this book said they hoped I would pay more attention than in the past to general purpose small firms. I am afraid I was not inclined to do so, because I do not see much future beyond 2020 for most small firms in liberalised regimes.”

So there you are 1,045 Scottish firms. 4,398 Scottish solicitors (or thereby, as I used to say when I conveyed); good people of Dingwall, Banff and Eyemouth. Sorry, the game is up-they’ve caught us at last. Richard said so, so it must be true.

Three and a half years to decommission - get a move on you hicks.

And it continues, which brings me to the title.

I stopped buying Susskind. If you want a good management read try David Maister. But I noticed last year The Sunday Times review of his The Future of the Professions. Co-authored by his son. Now here’s a nice profitable family business. The slag solicitors game. No end of government and big firm approval there.

And the reviewer (who I do not know) has sussed Susskind. “According to the authors of this provocative book, the traditional professions have had it”, he says. We are apparently “ethically challengeable, underperforming and inscrutable”. So there, that’s you lot told. See you do need the boys in the red braces to take you over and “liberalise” you.

He concludes by saying, “As for the book, it is dry, repetitive and disappointing….It feels like a report offered by a business consultant eager to exploit professional anxieties about being left behind by technology. The professions will undoubtedly change. But I wouldn’t write them of yet.”

Wow, I thought I was alone in thinking that. A dinosaur who was silly enough to have faith in my profession and the need for good quality access to justice.

Sadly it is not the reviewer, but the Good Richard who has the ear of Westminster and Holyrood.

Makes you want to hold out till 2021 just to prove him wrong.

And the title? Well the band is a no brainer for those of us of a certain age, so the Pomeroy’s (remember Rumpole) goes to the first e-mail confirming which album it first appeared on…and how long ago that was.

And well done Kirsty Tyre for being first last month.