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He said if the recommendations made by the Administration on those matters were implemented, there would be no strong case for formally unifying the two branches of the profession.

Some of these recommendations are:

* It should be possible for solicitors to acquire rights of audience in all courts under statutory provisions similar to those in England and Scotland.

* Recognised professional bodies should have direct access to barristers, as in England and Australia.

* Barristers should be permitted to appear unattended in court if they consider that the absence of the solicitor or his representative will not prejudice the interests of the lay client or the interests of justice.

* The two-counsel rule, which prevents a Queen's Counsel from appearing as an advocate without a junior in any court or tribunal, should be abolished.

Some other recommendations made by the Administration in the paper are as follows:

Lawyers fees

The main recommendations in respect of lawyers' fees are that scale fees should be abolished in respect of conveyancing transactions, and that "conditional fees" should be possible in respect of certain proceedings.

A conditional fee arrangement is one whereby a lawyer agrees that he will receive no payment if the case is lost and that, if the case is won, he will receive a fee which does not exceed the normal fee by more than a permitted amount.