Bailiffs, Debt recovery agency,High Court Enforcement, AHCEO, High Court Enforcement Officers, the home of enforcement, Commercial debt recovery,CCJ'S, Find debtor and server debtor, Authorised High Court Enforcement.

This coincided with the changes to the Rules of Court and the new Civil Procedure Rule was born. I can remember the day, 26th April 1999, the same day that Jill Dando was killed on the doorstep of her London home.

In advance of the change, we had been able to mobilise the Sheriffs of England and Wales into a national marketing campaign. With capped fees and access to the Sheriffs Lodgment Centre, Sheriffs were at last able to market their services as never before.

In March 1999, we opened the Sheriffs Lodgment Centre, headed by the wonderful Vicky Wilkinson and began the journey to transfer judgments from the County Court to the High Court - over 150,000 judgments and a colossal £900,000,000 has now been transferred!

So what of the Sheriffs? Well, it has been a long haul to achieve a national presence, gain commercial credibility, and the vital recognition of policy makers. In the late 1990's the Sheriffs were hardly politically correct. Picked for their heritage rather than their ability and with an archaic structure untouched since William the Conqueror, the Sheriffs were ripe for reform.

Former administrations had tried and failed to pick through the Gordian knot of change, and left well alone. No one was prepared to tackle enforcement.

Then came along two of legends in their own lifetimes. There was Patricia Scotland, the elegant and eloquent Parliamentary Secretary and the articulate and able Viv Hodgson, both prepared to tackle the problem. Between them, they managed to make High Court enforcement fit a New World.

Initially I was prevented from joining in the debate. Apparently I was too controversial for Government, (or was it that I might have actually spoken some good old common sense?) But I was pushed forward, thanks to my now competitor, Andrew Wilson, to sit on the Advisory Group for Enforcement Service Delivery.

Here one could observe the skill of the end game at its best. The agenda was planned, the players were invited to join in and the outcome was inevitable. Of course, the Advisory Group had its detractors, the cynics and the suspicious, but the policy makers were on track, delivering a series of reforms that were sensible and workable.

Maybe I was a pain in the neck but there was no place for the status quo. High Sheriffs were relying on non-descript indemnity from their Under Sheriff, had no safety net and were totally responsible for enforcement. The Government offered them a way out and most were more than willing to exit stage left.

Enter Robert Turner, a real hero, Senior Master of the Queen's Bench Division, and the Registrar of Judgments. A very senior judge willing to listen and take on board change, using his good offices to facilitate the needs of all stakeholders to achieve reform.

A judge, prepared to facilitate reform, is a little scary in the corridors of power, but I think the Senior Master's sincerity, obvious technical ability, sense of humour, and willingness to change, smoothed the ruffles of the most cynical.

In March 2002 the Government settled on the Sheriffs Officers Association as the preferred agency. The High Sheriffs were in uproar, while the Under Sheriffs grappled with the commercial implications of reform.

In this debate, which was bloody in parts, I backed the Government. High Court Enforcement had to move forward, to evolve, and to meet the demands of the Woolf reforms. Senior judges listened and facilitated the change. The Office of High Sheriff was cut loose of enforcement and the responsibilities.

The clock ticked by and the signals from Government became louder, "Reform or Die". Sheriffs now argue they were not informed about the impact of change. But the fact is that whilst the Government were pushing the changes through the Sheriffs waited patiently for The Courts Act to become law.

By contrast, my own organisation began in March 2002, to build on the success of the Sheriffs Lodgment Centre. It was the first and original, costing us (and not as myth would have it, the Sheriffs Association), some £2,000,000 over the last 5 years. We have done our bit for High Court enforcement - ploughing back this investment into systems and a team we believe in - benefiting other Sheriffs and clients.

I think when The Courts Act became law on 1 November 2003, the other Sheriffs finally woke up. The High Court Enforcement Officers Association should become the benchmark in terms of professional enforcement standards. It has to shrug off its outdated habits, adopting a more open and transparent structure. I feel confident under the leadership of John Marston it will achieve its goals, provided it learns the lesson of King Canute. The tide of the enforcement industry is rushing in, and cannot be stopped. And my advice - if they are interested - is to strive for cohesion.

High Court Enforcement Officers must now visibly come together, as they did in 1998, to deliver their commitment to Government of a national enforcement agency with agreed service standards. ACEA and ESA are knocking at the door, desperate to come in, and one day we might let them.

It is 'balance' that makes High Court Enforcement a legend in its own lifetime. However we are packaged, however commercial, we remain Officers of the Court, answerable to the Court.

As an independent, national enforcement agency, covering 105 postcodes, in England and Wales, we are proud of our heritage and excited by our future. In time to come, we hope to become our own little legend, about how we took the dusty old Office of Sheriff and made it modern, relevant and dare I say it "purple".