The actions of one man transformed the regulation of the solicitors’ profession, says Geoffrey Bindman
Once upon a time the only body which could investigate complaints against solicitors was the Law Society itself. It did not inspire confidence and experience confirmed the suspicion among the public that solicitors were predisposed to favour their colleagues against disgruntled clients.
One man changed all this, an unsung hero. His name was Leslie Parsons.
Parsons ran a successful business in Burry Port, South Wales. Its main activity was bottling cockles and other food products which were sold to supermarkets across the UK. Though he had little formal education, he was a man of great intelligence and implacable righteousness. He had invented and patented a machine which largely automated the bottling process and in the mid-60s he entered into an agreement with a large engineering company to develop and market his invention worldwide.
Things did not work out and litigation ensued. In 1970 Parsons fell out with his solicitor and instructed a new one, Glanville Davies, a local man, long established in practice and a member of
