2004 - 2nd Quarter

Title and description of item or excerpt.

Links - the full story

Date posted on UnjustIS

Top lawyers in plea for power to rein in rogue solicitors

LEADING lawyers concerned at the way complaints about the legal profession are handled have asked for more powers to suspend and discipline rogue solicitors.

Which? Calls for End of Lawyers' Self-Regulation

Solicitors are failing to deal with complaints properly and should lose the right to self-regulation, the consumer magazine Which? said today. The ongoing review of legal regulation by former deputy governor of the Bank of England Sir David Clementi should strip solicitors in England and Wales of the ability to deal with complaints, it added.

The Scotsman

Which? Press Release

Solicitor took eight years to pay charity its cash

A SOLICITOR took so long to deal with a charity donation that his client died before the matter was resolved, a tribunal heard.

BBC Radio 4 - File on 4. 22 Jun

Mounting complaints about bad solicitors have prompted plans for a major government review of how the legal professions in England and Wales are regulated.

Confidential files from law firms found dumped in the streets

CONFIDENTIAL legal documents revealing names, addresses and details of sensitive cases have been found dumped on the streets of Glasgow.

Watchdogs close in on KF Concept

INVESTORS in easy-money scheme KF Concept face a triple blow as the Financial Services Authority and the Serious Fraud Office step up efforts to track down tens of millions of pounds. (Tony Hetherington, Mail on Sunday)

Agency gets tough with criminals

The Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency (SDEA) has vowed to strip criminals of their money and assets in a drive to seize £21m over the next year. SDEA director Graeme Pearson said it would leave criminals with "only the shirts on their back".

Britain's judiciary is still overwhelmingly white, male and middle class.

Now the CPS has devised a novel way to change all that, reports Robert Verkaik

The worst ever pension fraud is run by the state

For the past decade or so, we have been told that we should be disgusted by what the pension and insurance companies have done to us.

Accountant plotted to cheat employers of £1.5m

AN ACCOUNTANT was yesterday jailed after plotting to swindle £1.5m from high street giants Safeway and BP. Dheej Keesoondoyal, 34, was employed by the BP/Safeway Partnership as an accountant at their head office.

Bar boycott wins higher fees

The government has caved in and agreed to increase defence barristers' fees under a new scheme for the most expensive criminal cases, after a boycott threatened to force judges to release defendants charged with terrorism and murder.

Boom times for stock fraud

Smooth-talking brokers, many of them American, use flattery, urgency and sometimes lies to persuade foreign investors to buy stock in the small U.S. companies they tout as the next Microsoft or eBay. But almost as soon as money changes hands, many of these can't-miss propositions become sure losers.

Regulator ‘ready to ban’ premium-rate sites

‘I think that it is totally wrong for BT to be profiting from these internet scams’ THE regulator is poised to introduce a total ban on premium-rate internet charge sites following thousands of complaints from consumers.

Women in doomed abuse case sue lawyer

Women whose claims of rape and sexual abuse by a disgraced gynaecologist were thrown out of court in a legal debacle are to sue their former solicitor with cash help from the Law Society.

Law firm can't argue both for and against Market Regulation Services

TORONTO (CP) - A law firm can't advise on the creation of a stock-market regulator and then defend an investment-bank client by arguing that the regulator's structure is flawed, the Ontario Securities Commission has ruled.

Ministers consider bribery crackdown

Plans to crack down on companies involved in bribery overseas are being considered by ministers, amid concerns that Britain will this year face international criticism for its failure to bring a single prosecution for such offences.

Watts paid £1m for failure

SHELL revealed yesterday that it paid its disgraced former chairman Sir Philip Watts over £1million in March, after he quit over the company’s reserves crisis.

Law Society seeks repeal of limited liability prohibition

The Law Society is to seek the repeal of a prohibition against limiting the liability of a solicitor in a contentious business agreement.

The Lawyer

26 Jun

Global Crossing Suit Allowed to Proceed

Gary Winnick, the founder and former chairman of Global Crossing, must defend himself against claims that he and 22 former executives fraudulently misrepresented the company's finances, a federal judge ruled yesterday.

New York Times

24 Jun

Woman faces more charges

A London woman, already charged with multiple counts of fraud and theft after thousands of dollars went missing from several organizations, is now facing fresh charges. Traci Sampson, 44, is charged with one count of uttering a forged document and one of fraud over $5,000, London police said yesterday.

London Free Press

24 Jun

Two million email addresses sold to spammers

Millions of email addresses from one of the biggest names on the internet have been illegally sold to spammers.

This is London

24 Jun

SHAMED ALDRIDGE SENT TO PRISON

A disgraced former council leader will be waking up behind bars this morning after being jailed for 18 months for forging the will of an elderly neighbour, days before she died, to get his hands on her £150,000 estate.

This is North Scotland

24 Jun

EXTENDING JUSTICE TO SOCIETY’S MOST VULNERABLE

The use of special measures in the courts is encouraging more people to testify and increasing confidence in the criminal justice system, according to research published today by the Home Office.

£1m phone scam conman is jailed.

INTERNATIONAL fraudsters operating from a small shop in Manchester swindled phone companies out of more than £1m in just two years.

Head of Tony Martin charity is banned for fraud.

The head of a charity that campaigned for the release of Tony Martin, the jailed farmer, has been banned from running any charitable activities after The Telegraph disclosed that he was a fraudster. The Charity Commission has told Peter Sainsbury, who ran the People's Opportunity to Work Trust and other charities...

Legally bound.

The IT and legal departments must have a close working relationship advocates Stuart Lauchlan
There is an old joke much beloved of CEOs everywhere. “What do you call a hundred lawyers mown down by a runaway bus?” The answer, of course, is “A good start!”

'Claims culture' hits firms.

Scottish businesses are becoming increasingly caught up in a claims culture thanks to the explosion of "no win, no fee" practices, according to a report.

IC Scotland

22 Jun

WorkCover defies minister.

THE Victorian WorkCover Authority continues to use a disgraced law firm in defiance of a request by Attorney-General Rob Hulls that it be sacked. Mr Hulls has already dumped from the panel supplying the State Government's legal services the high-profile firm Mills Oakley.

Herald Sun

22 Jun

Former lawyers facing fraud trial.

Two struck-off Waikato lawyers have been committed for trial following a four-day depositions hearing in the Auckland District Court. Murray Athol Osmond, 52, of Cambridge, and William Raymond Harris, 57, of Hamilton, are accused of defrauding a finance company of $1 million.

Stuff.co.nz

SFO (NZ)

22 Jun

Women in failed sex claims case face legal bills.

"On the one hand, there are a number of claimants, some of them vulnerable and distressed. On the face of material before me, there is evidence to suggest that they may well have been poorly served by Jane Loveday, their solicitor."

(Update Oct 2007) (Update - Loveday struck off Jun 2008)

Guardian

Telegraph

BBC

22 Jun

'Tesco law' imminent as supermarket launches legal service.

Lord Falconer's notion of cheap and accessible legal advice, dubbed by the constitutional affairs secretary "Tesco law", came a step closer when Britain's biggest supermarket chain obliged by launching its own online legal service.

Independent

Tesco

21 Jun

NHS recovers Ledward defence cash

The High Court has ruled the NHS can recover the money it spent defending a gynaecologist against assault claims. The allegations were made after the death of Ledward, who had already been struck off for bungling 13 operations.

BBC

21 Jun

Fears over self-certified loans

MORTGAGE lenders are granting billions of pounds of home loans without verifying the borrower's income, according to the industry's own figures.

This is London

21 Jun

Ombudsman advocates end to danger of divided loyalties.

THE Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman has called for the regulation and representation of lawyers to be split – contrary to the present regime operated by professional bodies on both sides of the border.

The Herald

21 Jun

Downing St revives plan for non-jury fraud trials

Plans to remove juries from complex fraud trials, abandoned by the government last year to rescue the criminal justice bill, are to be revived within months, the Attorney General has said.

Laughing all the way from the bank

Andrew Durant, a fraud investigation specialist at BDO Stoy Hayward, says: "Given that much of this sentence will be written off for good behaviour and most served in an open prison, even those fraudsters who get caught can end up laughing all the way to the Bahamas on the proceeds they have squirrelled away."

News update on Solicitor David Gatherer

A Law Society spokesman said after the trail (sic): "Gatherer has badly let down his profession. The public is entitled to the highest standards of integrity from a solicitor. (Hmm...UJ)

HBOS faces £77m US court action

BRITAIN'S fourth-biggest bank, HBOS, is being hauled before the US courts today to fend off a claim from more than 55,000 account holders who allege they have been cheated out of shares worth £77m.

CLEVELAND LAWYER PLEADS GUILTY TO OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE

COLUMBUS - A Cleveland lawyer, Martin W. Elson, 44, pled guilty today to a charge of conspiring to obstruct justice in connection with schemes by Richard D. Schultz, former CEO of National Revenue Corporation, to defraud creditors and to obstruct a grand jury investigation in the Southern District of Ohio...Jeremy Franks, a London Solicitor, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in September 2002, and Richard Kennedy, a Canadian businessman from Toronto, pleaded guilty in March 2003. Both are awaiting sentencing. Update Oct 2004

US doctors refuse to treat lawyers

It has emerged that an increasing number of US doctors are refusing to give medical treatment to lawyers and their families.

Roll on Friday

18 Jun

Hotspots created in UK courts.

The UK Royal Courts of Justice and six other courts around the country joined the information superhighway today, Courts Minister Christopher Leslie announced.

Another case of sexism and the City?

By Laura Peek
Merrill Lynch, already defending a £7.5 million action, is now facing new discrimination claims

Lammy blasts magic circle on race discrimination

Government minister David Lammy has hit out at racism at top City firms, claiming ethnic minority lawyers face tough barriers in succeeding at commercial law.

Bankers plead for British justice

It is not often that you meet people who are desperate to be charged with fraud. "If we were prosecuted here, it would be as if all our Christmases had come at once," says David Bermingham, 42, a former investment banker. (The authorities in England are apathetic to the point of complicity where fraud is concerned. UJ)

Telegraph

18 Jun

Melbourne lawyer caught up in gangland war

ELEANOR HALL: Melbourne's legal fraternity is reeling today, after revelations that one of its own has been caught up in the gangland war. Criminal lawyer, George Defteros, is facing suspension after being charged with conspiracy to murder.

ABC.net.au

18 Jun

Will newspapers now have to run scared?

‘No win, no fee’ cases are having a ‘chilling’ effect on freedom of expression. The Court of Appeal is not impressed “SOMETHING seems to have gone seriously wrong,” said Lord Justice Brooke.

The Times (subscription)

18 Jun

LEGAL AID IS DROPPED FOR MMR CLAIMANTS

Hundreds of people who claim family members have suffered health problems as a result of the MMR jab are being told their legal aid has been dropped.

Bank's BCCI legal bill hits £55m

"Over this year and the preceding two, the Bank's spending on defending the BCCI claims will have lined the pockets of its solicitors, Freshfields, by up to £55m."

Are your trustees on their mettle?

There is evidence that many trustees are failing in their duty to check regularly that the money held in trust is invested sensibly. Paul Farrow reports

Solicitor lied about 'cashback' scheme, tribunal hears.

A SOLICITOR lied to another lawyer when he helped organise an astonishing £2.5 million 'cashback' scheme, a tribunal heard on Thursday. Richard Caplan, 51, claimed he had checked that the offer was backed by insurers when it wasn't.

Lawyer in court on murder plot.

A PROMINENT Melbourne solicitor was charged today with conspiracy to murder an alleged underworld figure and his father.

Former judge admits porn charges.

A former circuit judge has pleaded guilty to child pornography charges. David Selwood, from Winchester in Hampshire, pleaded guilty to 13 counts of making and possessing indecent images of children.

Asylum case lawyers milk legal aid.

Abuse by solicitors is revealed as so widespread and costly that the government plans to launch its own service. Jamie Wilson and Alan Travis detail the extent of overcharging and exploitation.

Toronto lawyer charged after RCMP sting

Former Crown prosecutor faces charges of laundering money for organized crime. "The unfortunate consequence of these restrictions is that the legal profession can be exploited to cloak criminal activity."

Legal profession losing its shine as a career

Fewer are entering the Bar and renewing their practising certificates

$18 million for scam victims

VANCOUVER – The Law Society of BC has approved more than $18 million in compensation for people and organizations who lost money due to misappropriation of real estate and mortgage funds by disbarred lawyer Martin Wirick.

Law Society BC

Press

15 Jun

Barristers go public.

Barristers are to be allowed for the first time to offer their services directly to the public without the need to go through a solicitor.

Guardian

15 Jun

Groups call for legal services authority.

The Legal Services Commission, Legal Services Ombudsman and Consumers Association have all called on Sir David Clementi to recommend independent regulation of the legal profession.

Law Society Gazette

11 Jun

Chancery Lane under fire for ducking M&S probe.

Fresh doubts have been raised over the Law Society’s ability to regulate the City as Chancery Lane this week refused to launch an investigation into Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s controversial role in the bid battle for Marks & Spencer (M&S).

Legal Week

10 Jun

Amlin unveils formal panel.

Insurance giant Amlin has unveiled its first legal panel for group related work, appointing seven firms to advise the company on all its non-insurance related issues.

Legal Week (UJ News sheet)

09 Jun

Missing: Woman lawyer under probe.

A WOMAN lawyer has gone missing in the midst of a probe into funds involved in a property transaction that she dealt with. Ms T. Sivakolunthu, 46, a consultant in M Dass & Co, failed to return home on May 18 and is believed to have left Singapore.

Straits Times

09 Jun

Light touch call for City firms.

City law firms should be subject to light-touch regulation if a shake-up of the profession is not to inhibit their ability to export legal services around the globe, Clifford Chance has urged. The world's largest law firm has told Sir David Clementi, the Prudential chairman leading the review of legal regulation, that a new watchdog should be able to regulate large commercial firms and high street solicitors differently.

Financial Times

09 Jun

Pop stars hit as £700,000 goes missing.

Dozens of Britain's best-known pop stars have fallen victim to "significant financial irregularities" at the organisation that pays their royalties. Aura, the Association of United Recording Artists, has sacked one of its directors, Peter Horrey,...

This is London

09 Jun

Legal aid shortfalls blamed on funding.

The Federal Government should overhaul the way it spends money on Australia's legal aid services because some of the most marginalised groups in the country are missing out on access to justice, a year-long Senate inquiry has found.

The West Australian

08 Jun

Law clerk's 'dangerous mistake'.

A LAW clerk ignored top-level advice and let two innocent clients languish in jail without appeal. (Shame on clerk's employers/principals. Ed)

IC South London

08 Jun

Solicitors Sue Adviser over Investments 'Mis-Selling'.

A firm of solicitors today announced it was bringing an action against an independent financial adviser it claims mis-sold high risk products to investors. Class Law Solicitors is representing people who bought high-risk with-profits funds and hedge funds from Towry Law International (TLI), and have subsequently seen the value of their investment dive.

The Scotsman

See also: In Strictest Confidence

08 Jun

Ex-judge faces child porn charges.

A retired judge has been charged with making indecent photos of a child and possession of indecent photos of children, Hampshire police say. David Selwood, 69, of Winchester, was charged with 12 counts of making indecent photos of a child in March and April of this year.

08 Jun

UK law firms fall down on security.

One in 10 UK legal firms has suffered an IT security failure and one in 20 has lost a client because of it, a report claims.

VNUNET

08 Jun

WRITE TO REPLY.

Wonder if Michael Gray sent any postcards from his holiday - the Scottish Solicitors’ Discipline Tribunal would have liked to hear from him.

The Scotsman

08 Jun

UK law firm to help investment victims.

A BRITISH law firm has been appointed to take action against Towry Law International (TLI) on behalf of investors who lost millions in a large-scale fund collapse.

Gulf Daily News

08 Jun

Women re-shape legal marketing.

SURGING numbers of females at law firms has shifted marketing higher up the agenda and altered the way firms conduct their marketing activity, according to recruitment experts.

OnRec

08 Jun

Law reform vital to distinguish criminal from lax.

THE pressure continues for further and stiffer punishments for errant company directors.

The Scotsman

07 Jun

Law Society of Scotland gives response to Clementi.

The Law Society of Scotland has submitted, on behalf of its members, its response to The Review of the Regulatory Framework for Legal Services in England and Wales

The Herald

The Law Society of Scotland

(Download .pdf document)

07 Jun

Ex cop jailed in £4m vehicle fraud.

A former police officer was jailed yesterday for his part in a £4 million vehicle fraud. Ian Collins (45) from Solihull, was jailed for two-and-a-half years after he was found guilty of conspiracy to defraud finance companies.

Law Society to review Freshfields ruling.

The Law Society, which regulates solicitors, has said it intends to investigate the ramifications of Wednesday's High Court judgment that barred Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, one of the country's biggest commercial law firms, from acting for Philip Green in his bid for Marks & Spencer.

Lawyer disbarred by Supreme Court.

GULFPORT - Former bankruptcy attorney William S. Boyd III will have to get permission from the U.S. District Court if he wants to practice law in Mississippi after he is released from prison in two years.

The great tax office swindle.

A TAX officer filled the pockets of his friends, by creating a network of false accounts in a swindle which netted him thousands. Jonathan Davies, 38, used his expertise to create false tax accounts and nominated friends to receive bogus tax rebates before splitting the money with them.

Bank loses £2m of Air China’s money in swindle.

SCOTLAND'S biggest bank is at the centre of a police investigation involving the embarrassing loss of about £2m belonging to an international airline company, one of its high-profile customers.

Innovative, Industrious And Nefarious Fraudsters!

"Fraud and deceit abound in these days, more than in former times." - Sir Edward Coke, Lord Chief Justice, 1602. Although uttered more than 400 years ago, Sir Edward Coke's words ring as true today as they did in 1602. The problem is that, while we have created better techniques to counter fraud, fraudsters have been evolving as well.

"Mr Clean" barrister accused of £1 million fraud. (Updated Mar2005)

A barrister appointed by the Association of British Travel Agents to root out corruption in the travel industry has been charged with, errr, fraud. Defrauding his employers of £1 million, to be exact. Riccardo Nardi is now looking at an all-inclusive package deal of 23 criminal charges...

OFT welcomes legal profession reform proposals.

The legal professions need reform to improve competition and choice for their customers, says the OFT in response to the Clementi Review of the regulatory framework for legal services in England and Wales.

FSA fines Leopold Joseph & Sons Limited for systems and controls failings.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has today fined Leopold Joseph & Sons Limited (LJSL) £85,000 for serious failings in its system for monitoring adherence to credit limits. The weakness was first identified in 1999.

Financial Services Authority

04 Jun

FSA bans former Equitable Chief Executive.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has concluded that Christopher Headdon, the former Appointed Actuary and then Chief Executive of Equitable Life, is not fit and proper to hold a significant management role at a regulated firm and has banned him from performing such a role until May 2010.

Split-Capital update.

The Financial Services Authority yesterday told firms involved with the split capital investment trust scandal to get to the negotiating table and pay up to £350m in compensation or face lengthy enforcement action.

Dane Extradited over UK Pension Fraud Charges.

A court in Denmark today ordered the extradition of a lawyer wanted in connection with an alleged £1.6 million fraud in Britain. Carsten Iverson, 46, is accused of conspiracy to plunder the pension fund of a Glasgow manufacturing company in 1994, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said.

Freshfields banned after M&S action.

Philip Green is looking for new solicitors to advise him on his planned offer for Marks and Spencer after Freshfields was banned from acting for him. In a highly unusual move, M&S went to the courts to block Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, the "magic circle" law firm, from working on any offer because of an alleged conflict of interest.

Financial Times

03 Jun

Brief encounters.

"Why more of our leading lawyers are doing it for nothing"

Telegraph

03 Jun

Call to end ban on multi-disciplinary practices.

Lawyers should be allowed to go into partnership with accountants or other professionals in multi-disciplinary practices, the Office of Fair Trading has urged.

Financial Times

03 Jun

Accounting regulator to speed up discipline procedure.

The Accountancy Investigation and Discipline Board, which belatedly prepared itself for investigations last week, signalled it would not tolerate "delay and obfuscation" by accountants and their lawyers.

Financial Times

03 Jun

Legal centre head to fight for justice.

Coventry Law Centre helped local people access almost £2 million worth of benefits last year, and new director Sue Bent hopes to keep up the good work.

IC Coventry

Solicitor at Tribunal.

A plymouth lawyer has appeared before a disciplinary committee accused of misconduct charges.

This is Plymouth

02 Jun

OFT welcomes legal profession reform proposals.

The legal professions need reform to improve competition and choice for their customers, says the OFT in response to the Clementi Review of the regulatory framework for legal services in England and Wales.

Creditman

02 Jun

Dossier of shame tells of evil web.

A SECRET dossier linked to a murdered police informer names criminals, corrupt police and a lawyer in a string of drug, bribery and murder plots. A PROMINENT solicitor acted as a bagman to bribe detectives to reduce charges against two alleged drug dealers linked to Hodson.

The Australian

01 Jun

Investigation launched over solicitors' insurance scheme.

AN INSURANCE scheme for solicitors which is also lauded as an invaluable piece of consumer protection is to be subjected to a rigorous investigation and could be outlawed.

The Scotsman

01 Jun

Lawyers who accused Anwar had taken 1500 files of clients.

THE principal lawyers in the firm behind allegations that Scotland's leading human rights solicitor "touts" for clients have themselves been censured for stealing business.

The Herald

01 Jun

Businesses may have to take out fraud insurance

Businesses could be forced to take out extra insurance to cover potential legal fees for fraud trials under radical proposals being considered by the government. The Bar Council is pushing for a move to scrap legal aid for company directors and officers prosecuted for serious fraud offences. Instead companies would take out mandatory corporate legal expenses insurance to cover defence costs.

Financial Times

31 May

Victims of violence face legal aid 'desert'

"Advice deserts" in legal aid are leaving people in some parts of the UK facing eviction and domestic violence with nowhere to turn for legal help, say two studies from the charity Citizens Advice.

Guardian

31 May

Coe ruling keeps a limit on privacy rights.

Sebastian Coe's failure to stop Sunday newspapers publishing details of a secret affair showed that judges were not carving out a new privacy law, lawyers said yesterday.

Guardian

31 May

Dishonest lawyers beware.

IF THE new rules to tighten accounting practices in law firms fail to keep lawyers from dipping into their clients' money, more draconian measures may follow.

Straits Times

30 May

When £600 a day is not enough for one of Britain's top QCs

A leading barrister stopped representing his client in the middle of a fraud trial after his daily rate was reduced to £600 when the man ran out of funds and had to take legal aid.

Telegraph

30 May

10 Years In Prison For Miami Attorney.

A criminal defense attorney who helped his clients launder drug money was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison. Miami lawyer J.C. Elso was convicted in December of two counts of conspiring to launder drug proceeds and one count of money laundering.

The Associated Press

29 May

Lawyer accused of taking $300,000.

A Rehoboth Beach attorney is accused of stealing more than $300,000 from a client last year after refinancing the client's mortgage, authorities said.

Delaware Online

29 May

Boycott of new legal aid rate continues.

Barristers vowed last night to continue their boycott of a new criminal legal aid payment scheme, an act of defiance which may force judges to release defendants accused of some of the most serious murders and terrorist offences.

Guardian

29 May

Move to fix fees in no-win no-fee cases.

More than 100,000 road accident victims should get personal injury damages payouts more quickly under a new scheme to fix the fees lawyers can charge in no-win no-fee deals. Thousands of claimants have had their awards delayed amid a bitter "costs war" between personal injury lawyers and defendants' insurers over the extra fees they are allowed to charge for winning cases.

Financial Times

29 May

British judges have wigs in a twist.

When Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias gives evidence in London today to the House of Lords select committee on constitutional reform, she will undoubtedly have some sound advice for their lordships on how to create and run a Supreme Court.

New Zealand Herald

29 May

TAG firms face £43m referral fee payout.

The 700 personal injury firms that worked under The Accident Group (TAG) scheme could be landed with a bill for more than £40 million after the Court of Appeal ruled that they must pay back money claimed for investigations because they amounted to referral fees.

Law Society Gazette

28 May

Law Soc insiders fear stalling on A&O probe Freshfields to shake up finance following review.

Law Society council members fear Chancery Lane is stalling the result of its high profile conflicts investigation into Allen & Overy (A&O) to avoid a damaging confrontation with the City, it has emerged. Council members have expressed concern that the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors (OSS) shows no sign of concluding the investigation launched into A&O over its role advising two competing parties in last year’s Safeway bid.

Legal Week

28 May

Government unveils QC reform deal.

The Government is to grant the QC rank a stay of execution after agreeing to reform the controversial award to be run jointly by the Bar Council and the Law Society.

Legal Week

28 May

Lawyer faces jail for fraud.

Former high-flying Peppermint Grove lawyer Rohan Skea faces a jail term after admitting to swindling nearly $14 million out of several finance companies.

The West Australian

27 May

Fast-lane lawyer on more fraud charges.

High-flying Peppermint Grove lawyer Rohan Skea will be charged tomorrow with another 23 counts of fraud over more than $7 million he allegedly swindled out of several finance companies.

The West Australian

26 May

Judge Impeachment Vote Delayed.

A motion which could lead to the impeachment of a judge accused of possessing child pornography is to be put before the Irish parliament next week.

The Scotsman

26 May

Angry watchdog berates Faculty of Advocates.

THE Faculty of Advocates has been savaged by Scotland's legal services watchdog over its handling of complaints by a member of the public against two of its members.

The Herald

26 May

Reformers grant reprieve to QC system.

The title of Queen's Counsel has won a temporary reprieve under plans to be unveiled today for radical reform of the 400-year-old system for marking out an elite cadre of advocates who are entitled to charge higher fees.

Guardian

26 May

Theft solicitor barred from job.

A Shropshire solicitor convicted of theft and forgery has been struck off by a disciplinary panel. Andrew Nicholls, who was a partner at the firm Dakin Nicholls of Shifnal, was given a three-month suspended jail term by Telford magistrates last year.

BBC

24 May

Law Society’s master insurance policy faces OFT investigation

THE Law Society of Scotland is facing a new headache in the wake of The Herald's disclosure last week that complaints about Scottish solicitors and their governing body are soaring.

The Herald

24 May

Danger signs

A legal firm has come under fire for touting for accident victims by using a “crashed” lorry on the side of the M6 in the Midlands.

IC Birmingham

23 May

Ban for 'crusader' who gave hope to mis-selling victims

A solicitor who gave endowment mortgage victims hopes of a legal route to compensation has been banned from practicing for a year. Joseph Aaron, from Ilford, Essex ...Joseph Aaron says he was "properly regulated by the Law Society" and was not obliged to reveal his disciplinary record.

Guardian

23 May

Heads you lose, tails you lose in 'no win, no fee'

For some of the woman claiming to have been sexually assaulted by disgraced gynaecologist Rodney Ledward, the misery was compounded by the recent and, they claim, unexpected arrival of legal bills for the cost of their failed action.
Their case collapsed when a High Court judge ordered an urgent investigation into their solicitor, Jane Loveday, and her handling of their multi-million pound compensation claim in February.

Guardian

23 May

Solicitor is struck off for dishonesty.

A NORTH Wales solicitor and former Bangor City chairman was struck off yesterday amid allegations of dishonesty. John Ross-Jones, 59, of Dolwyddelan, Conwy, was alleged to have misused clients' money and not paid it into proper accounts.

IC North Wales

21 May

Third Lawyer Charged with Laundering Drug Money.

A third solicitor has been charged with laundering drugs cash, police revealed today.
John Greenwood, 48, of Manchester Road, near Colne, Lancashire, was charged yesterday with conspiracy to money launder following a National Crime Squad investigation. John Greenwood cleared 26 July 2005

The Scotsman

21 May

Public censure for Law Society.

Scotland's legal watchdog has given an unprecedented public dressing down to the Law Society of Scotland.

BBC

21 May

Court attacks libel case charges

A clampdown on libel lawyers who charge excessive fees was promised by the appeal court yesterday, saying that they were having a chilling effect on investigative journalism.

Guardian

Telegraph

19 May

Sharp rise in legal complaints.

Complaints against Scotland's lawyers have increased by 25%, the governing body of solicitors has revealed.

BBC

The Herald

19 May

Legal aid system faces review after protests from solicitors.

A fundamental review of the creaking legal aid system was ordered by ministers yesterday in the wake of repeated protests from solicitors and a boycott from many defence barristers.

Financial Times

18 May

Albury solicitor jailed.

Mr Peter Lyle Sharp, a former solicitor from Albury, New South Wales (NSW), was sentenced today in the NSW District Court to five years jail with a non-parole period of three years in relation to 39 charges brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Mr Sharp had earlier pleaded guilty to 16 charges under the Corporations Act of making improper use of his position as the director of Tietyens Investments Pty Ltd to gain an advantage directly or indirectly for himself, and 23 charges under the Crimes Act of New South Wales, of concurring in the making of false statements with intent to obtain a financial advantage.

Australian SIC

18 May

Wealthy criminals will be forced to pay back legal aid.

Middle class criminals found guilty of fraud, violent behaviour and other middle-ranking offences are to be forced to pay back their legal aid as part of a £70m cost-cutting drive.

Independent

18 May

Ministers signal new fraud law.

Plans for a comprehensive fraud offence to replace nine offences and make cases easier for juries to understand were unveiled in a Home Office consultation paper yesterday.

Guardian

18 May

A case out of control.

After the death of bungling gynaecologist Rodney Ledward, 59 women, all clients of one solicitor, claimed he had sexually assaulted them and sought compensation. Now the solicitor is under investigation after the case collapsed, leaving the taxpayer with a bill for more than £1m. Clare Dyer reports

Guardian

18 may

Ex-Banker's Scam Left Investors 'High and Dry'

A former banker masterminded an “elaborate” international charade that fed on “human frailties”, dealt in deceit and made millions, a court heard today. In the dock with Martin Gibbins, 41, of Robins Nest Hill, Little Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, are Imdab Ullah, a 35-year-old financial consultant from Aberdeen Place, St John’s Wood, north west London, and solicitors Michael Wilson-Smith, 59, who lives in Dane Hill, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, Peter Barnett, 48, of Birchanger Lane, Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, and Minesh Ruparelia, 38, from Broxburn Close, Leicester.

The Scotsman

12 May

Police raid solicitors' office.

Officers from the Scottish Drugs Enforcement Agency targeted the offices of Chris Sayer solicitors in connection with a crackdown on career criminal Alexander Donnelly.

The Scotsman

12 May

'Sex-attack' women face legal bills.

"..earlier this year, their case collapsed in the High Court with Mrs Justice Hallett expressing "enormous concern" over the conduct of Jane Loveday, the solicitor representing the women."

Telegraph

12 May

Ledward victims face legal bills.

Thirty-seven women who claimed they were sexually assaulted by the disgraced gynaecologist Rodney Ledward have been left with large legal bills. Mistakes by solicitor Jane Loveday resulted in their High Court bid for compensation collapsing in January.

BBC

11 May

Let me in, I'm a lawyer.

Shell paid little attention to its in-house legal team. But as the recent scandal showed, no modern business can afford to keep its briefs unbriefed.

Independent

10 May

Solicitor branded incompetent by High Court judge.

Abbot Ozuzu was reported to the Legal Services Commission by a High Court judge because his work was "not competent".

Evening Standard

10 May

Crooked lawyer's appeal rejected.

A Solicitor jailed for eight years for crimes including fleecing more than £300,000 from clients has been denied leave to appeal against his sentence.

...all cases of theft by solicitors resulted in considerable damage to public confidence in the legal system but this was a particularly bad case.

This is Derbyshire

09 May

Jail for solicitor who lied.

A city solicitor has been jailed for lying to the police.
Harjit Sangha, 39, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for trying to pervert the course of justice.

Leicester Mercury

08 May

Lawyer in cash probe suspended.

A LAWYER who admitted a string of charges was suspended indefinitely at a disciplinary hearing.
Solicitor Geoffrey Stuart Lawton, 63, of Crowther Road, Heckmondwike, practised on his own under the name of GS Lawton and Co, of North Lane, Headingley, Leeds.

IC Huddersfield

07 May

Solicitor struck off for swindling clients.

A solicitor who stole a million pounds by swindling clients out of money from compensation claims has been struck off. Dmytro Torkoniak lied to the victims of accidents and illness about the amount of compensation they'd been awarded.

ITV Central

07 May

Former Royal Mint executive charged.

Hector Williamson, a former regional sales director at The Royal Mint, appeared at Bow Street Magistrates Court today on a charge of defrauding The Royal Mint. Update 22 Sept 2005:

Hector Williamson cleared

Serious Fraud Office

05 May

Five sentenced in £5m venture capital fraud.

Five company executives were sentenced today at Leeds Crown Court having pleaded guilty to defrauding business victims of nearly £5 million in a worldwide advance fee fraud

Serious Fraud Office

05 May

Underpaid and understaffed: the state of UK legal aid

A report into the state of legal aid reveals a system in crisis, bogged down by delays and inadequate advice, according to documents leaked to The Lawyer.

The Lawyer

04 May

International taskforce aims to identify sellers.

A new international taskforce to combat abusive tax avoidance is to focus on identifying who sells schemes that involve exotic financial products. Accounting and law firms are likely to come under intense scrutiny...

Financial Times

Inland Revenue

04 May

Don't just bin personal details.

People are making life easy for fraudsters by leaving important banking information in their rubbish bins.

The Business

03 May

£30m embezzlement fear sparks RBoS security review.

THE Royal Bank of Scotland has been forced to hold a major security review after it emerged £30m may have been embezzled.

Scotland on Sunday

03 May

Crackdown on Overseas Marketing Scams.

New measures have been announced to help crack down on overseas marketing scams which target UK consumers.

The Scotsman

03 May

Jail for solicitor who robbed clients.

A YORKSHIRE solicitor was beginning a two-and-a-half year jail sentence today for plundering more than £114,000 from client accounts. Timothy Farrant, 52, siphoned the money over nine years while a partner at Pinkney Grunwells in Scarborough.

Leeds Today

01 May

Anger at silence over legal costs.

A leading Labour councillor has said it is "absolutely ludicrous" that Coventry City Council cannot find out how similar authorities are dealing with a rise in the legal costs of social services cases.

Costs in Coventry have gone up almost four fold in four years, from £222,963 in 1999/2000 to £854,602 last year, and are an additional strain on the stretched social services budget.

IC Coventry

30 Apr

Embarrassment as case against judge collapses.

A major child porn case against an Irish circuit judge has collapsed. There was severe embarrassment all round as the charges against Judge Brian Curtin had to be thrown out when it was discovered that the police had used a search warrant that was one day out of date. The news may bring some comfort to senior Crown Court judge David Selwood who has been arrested on a charge of possessing similar material.

Roll on Friday

30 Apr

Judge slams inadequacies of Whangarei courthouse.

Northland's premier courthouse has been attacked as inferior, inadequate and hopelessly inappropriate by a district court judge. (Prophets - history is in the making here. UJ)

New Zealand Herald

29 Apr

Lords to review shock BCCI privilege ruling.

The House of Lords has granted leave to an appeal in a landmark case on client confidentiality thrown up by the ongoing dispute between the creditors of BCCI and the Bank of England...

Legal Week

29 Apr

Wanted legal clerk nabbed on beach.

Senior conveyancing executive Jason Tyler, 37, was yesterday jailed for two years after he admitted stealing more than £50,000 from the firm of solicitors he worked for.

IC Wales

29 Apr

Hearty thanks from charity.

 Scunthorpe solicitor Rodger Price swapped legal briefs for running shorts last week when he raised more than £1,500 for the National Heart Research Fund after completing his first London Marathon.

Scunthorpe Telegraph

29 Apr

Schools fear sports day stoppage.

School sports days could be scrapped because money-grabbing law firms are encouraging parents to sue if their children get SUNBURNED this summer.

IC Birmingham

29 Apr

Compensation case lawyers 'go too far'.

The head of operations at Britain's health and safety watchdog has launched a broadside against over-zealous lawyers who pursue compensation claims.

Financial Times

29 Apr

What price legal aid?

Anyone watching David Lammy's confident two-hour appearance before a Commons select committee on Tuesday would have little idea of the mess the Government has made of legal aid.

Telegraph

29 Apr

Solicitor admits beating his wife.

A HALIFAX solicitor beat up his wife during an argument over gardening in front of their two "frightened" children.
Tom Moore (50), of Stoney Lane, Lightcliffe, admitted assaulting his wife Jennifer when he appeared before Calderdale magistrates.

Halifax Today