It is hard to resist the journalist’s natural inclination at this time of the year to fill space with predictions for the year ahead. But 2011 is a hard year to predict – 6 October is unlikely to be the big bang so beloved of headline-writers over the years (myself included), although undoubtedly some organisations will seek first-mover advantage by making announcements that day.

Despite being a ‘consumer champion’ (my own words), I have never quite been convinced of the need to regulate will-writing. This is not because I don’t think there aren’t problems. It’s because I don’t think it will make much difference and is probably addressing the wrong issue, which is surely that not enough people make a will at all.

I noticed this morning, as I flitted through the various legal news sites and blogs, that there is still substantial debate going on as to whether we are a doomed profession. There is the debate about whether QualitySolicitors is the right or the wrong way forward, whether Barristers would be better at offering one-stop litigation services, whether 2011 will be the year of law firm mergers, whether there is another wave or redundancy on the horizon, and whether there are too many solicitors.

The news that QualitySolicitors (QS) had bought 10,000 TV advertising slots in November was met with disbelief by my marketing director: ‘In one month? Impossible – there’d be no room for the programmes!’

We all know where the Bar stands on referral fees – both the Bar Council and Bar Standards Board (BSB) strongly oppose their existence and have not been slow to express their views publicly. At last week’s meeting of the BSB’s full board, there seemed amazement that anyone could support them. Certainly the BSB’s response to the Legal Services Board’s consultation on referral fees has moved the rhetoric up a notch.