LIKE many of my colleagues working in the field of personal injury law, I was intrigued by the BBC2 programme No Win, No Fee, a fly-on-the-wall documentary about Amelans Solicitors in Manchester.

I feared that the manner in which these so-called rottweilers of the personal injury industry were likely to be portrayed, could further damage the reputation of a profession still recovering from the fallout which resulted from the ascendancy and demise of the large 'claims farmers' such as Claims Direct and The Accident Group.

Amelans were no random choice by the BBC. They may appear to be a fairly small, three-partner practice in the north west of England, but such is their reputation for aggressive self-promotion that there are few people in the legal profession who have not heard of them.

As it was, there were only occasional flickers of the aggressive approach to marketing and claims handling for which they are famed.

As you would expect, the production team seem more interested in the odd unusual case pursued by Amelans, such as the Geordie Country and Western singer accidentally shot at the end of a gig, than the more run of the mill claims that probably account for 99 per cent of their work.

Whatever impression viewers were left with, the fact is that the number of personal injury claims made nationally has fallen year on year over the last five years. Further, in most personal injury cases, and as was clearly spelt out in the programme, the solicitor only gets paid if the claim succeeds. They do not encourage frivolous claims to do so would be commercial suicide.

R LOWES

Partner, BLB Solicitors

Bath