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Thanks, loge

I finished the puzzle much earlier today, having struggled, like a few others, with 16 and 23 but finally managing to crack the logic behind these clues.
The only one I still cannot parse is 21. No one so far seems to have mentioned this clue, so either (a) I have the wrong solution OR (b) the solution is correct and I am the only one who can't parse the clue... A gentle hint may just be enough to nudge me towards the elusive PDM.

First word is definition, "for telephone" indicates homophone of second word, plus one of the missing letters.

It relies on a 7 letter honorific applied to some US lawyers.

I should say that you find the defn under the Chambers entry

Sorry about answer to 21 - read it as 23!⁹

*wont find* Sorry!

In reply to your earlier post, loge, it's the CAPITAL version of the surplus letters that have a direct "version" in the alphabet we all use to fill in cryptic crossword grids.

Thanks, ixion. I have it now, but it does not seem completely satisfactory... The 7 letter term you mention does not have the required definition, but the 6 letter contraction of this term does. However, this shorter word does not fit with "after ____ loses case". (Perhaps "case" should have been "base"!

Wiki - ??????? is a title used to denote that a man (among lawyers in the United States, a man or a woman) has a certain social status.

Collins - in the U.S., now specif. used for lawyers, male and female