I deal with solicitors a lot - on an almost daily basis - and I think, by and large, the ones I deal with are pretty good. My involvement with solicitors is generally in the field of contract law, and if my experience is anything to go by, their knowledge of their field has always been very good.
However, this causes two problems.
The first is that, in a lot of cases, I genuinely believe solicitors are a hindrance to good, efficient commerce. I have lost count of the number of times I have scratched through chunks of contracts because they are unwieldly, do not do what it is supposed to do, or worse, just simply pointless.
Secondly, solicitors are quick (and keen) to get into a pi s sing contest with a fellow solicitor over contract negotiations - it is an ego trip. If the ego trip isn't bad enough, because of the ego trip their billable hours increase.