Bermuda's lawyers have got a sticky problem on their minds. They are locked in a controversial debate, and this time they're not splitting hairs... they could even end up blowing their tops.

The issue is wigs -- the scratchy horsehair headgear lawyers have to wear in the higher courts thanks to a 300-year-old English tradition.

Back in London the Bar Council, representing senior lawyers, is discussing this month whether wigs are a silly tradition that should be abandoned.

Mrs. Barbara Mills, recently appointed the UK's director of public prosecutions, believes the topknots copied from the French court in the 17th century are an anachronism that alienates lawyers from ordinary people.

The new Speaker of the House of Commons, Ms. Betty Boothroyd, refuses to wear the shoulder-length wig adopted by her male predecessors, preferring "to be comfortable when I'm working''.

And spurred by this rumbling in the ranks, Lord Taylor, the Lord Chief Justice and a declared abolitionist, has commissioned a survey on judges' and lawyers' preferences on wigs and the traditional black gowns.

The issue is a difficult one, because lawyers treasure a yellowing, aging wig as a sign of experience and seniority in court.

So should Bermuda's lawyers abandon their $400 hand-made accessories? The Hon.

David Wilkinson MP, Speaker of the House of Assembly, has two wigs -- a shoulder-length "full-bottomed'' specimen for the House, and a regular lawyer's model. While a supporter of the position of his counterpart Ms Boothroyd, he admitted he was ambivalent on the issue.

"I don't mind wearing mine, although I don't wear it all the time in the House,'' he said. "I guess it is quite an anachronism, but it's not too bad to wear on a formal occasion for the benefit of the tourists. However, I won't cry if we have to give it up.'' Crown counsel Mr. Steve Harrison hails from Canada, where wigs are no longer worn. But he sits firmly on the fence when it comes to abolition here.

"When I came here, wearing a wig was a new experience,'' he said. "But I'd have to say that I've grown quite attached to it in the last three years. That may be because it offers me a decent hairline, at least while I'm working.'' But his colleague Ms Sharon Kenny is anti-wigs. "I think they look better on men than women because of the length of their hair. I find them very annoying, especially in the summer, but I've learned to keep mine on and scratch right through it.

"Over time the oils from your hair get into the linings and they can get quite disgusting.'' Still in the Attorney General's chambers, Mr. Mark Pettingill is a passionate wig man. "It's an essential thing, and the Bar has to hold onto it,'' he said. "It dates back centuries and must be preserved. As a staunch English-Bermudian, I'm right behind it.'' The alternative would be for lawyers to look like they do on "LA Law'', he shuddered.

At Appleby, Spurling and Kempe, Mr. John Barritt is a supporter on balance.

"It's not uncomfortable,'' he said. "It's just disconcerting at first and one has to get used to it. I used to think it was slipping off my head and into my eyebrows.

"I'm not fussed. Abolishing them wouldn't make an iota of difference.'' But his colleague, Sen. Jerome Dill, said he believed wigs help separate lawyers from the general public. "I would come down in favour of getting rid of them,'' he said.

Over at Hall, Duncan and Trott, Mr. Julian Hall MP admitted: "It's not the most favourite garment in my closet, but after 17 years you don't really think about it.

"It is quite a ridiculous thing to do, to go around in drag trying to argue a case in front of serious people. But even the judges are dressed roughly the same. It's one of those quaint British traditions that I find more innocuous than anything else.

"Wearing wigs distinguishes the legal profession, which by its very nature needs to be regarded as distinguished. But if Bermuda decided to abolish it you wouldn't find me conducting any rallies in support of it.

"Bermuda will be absolutely the last place in the entire world to abolish it.'' HAIR-RAISING DEBATE -- Should Bermuda's legal profession get rid of their wigs?