Title and description of item or excerpt.

Links - the full story

Date posted on UnjustIS

Outrage at solicitors' 'trim-and-tell' offer

A SOLICITORS' firm has been branded "unethical" by a hairdresser offered cash to refer customers who reveal marital problems while having a trim. Steve Hall, of Heaven Hair in New Canal, Salisbury, said he was shocked at being told he could receive £75 a time to "betray the trust" of his clients. But the firm has defended its referral scheme, which does not break any rules or guidelines, saying it is merely a different way of advertising its services, and that several Salisbury hairdressers have already signed up to it. Mr Hall was stunned when he received a letter from the head of family law at...

Salisbury Journal

31 Aug

Fixed fees move 'threatens justice'

The risk of miscarriages of justice has been increased as a result of ministerial changes to lawyers' fees, according to new research commissioned by the Scottish Executive. The study has revealed that changes to the legal aid system, aimed at speeding up the courts and reducing the cost to the taxpayer, have in fact led to less-effective work and little improvement in delays.

The Herald

31 Aug

BP: Big problems for oil giant

BP says the initials stand for 'Beyond Petroleum'. But as its environmental and regulatory troubles pile up, critics are starting to ask whether the company is suffering a deeper-seated malaise. BP's reputation as one of Britain's biggest corporate success stories took a fresh battering yesterday after the oil giant confirmed that it is being investigated in the US for possible manipulation of the crude oil and petrol markets. The latest inquiries follow hard on the heels of US grand jury investigations into oil spills in Alaska and last year's Texas City refinery explosion, in which 15 workers died, and a separate inquiry by the US authorities into claims that BP attempted to rig the propane market.

Independent

30 Aug

Sainbury's Bank moves to beat cash machine fraud

Sainsbury's Bank is to invest £3.5m on security around its 885 cash machines in a bid to halt fraud which, it believes, has risen by 260% over the past five years. "We are committed to ensuring our machines are among the safest in the country," said Kevin Barrett from Sainsbury's.

Guardian

30 Aug

Why we should fear fraud

DON'T waste your time walking down the street worrying about getting mugged or having your handbag snatched - it's fear of fraud that should be occupying the public consciousness, says the temporary commissioner of the City of London Police. Identity theft, credit card misuse and phishing mean that people are more likely to become victims of fraud than to suffer any other crime, Mike Bowron tells Police Review (Aug 25). "No one is walking down the street in fear of being embezzled. I am saying they ought to," he says.

Times Online

30 Aug

Change may tip balance in favour of majority that abide by law

THE Government is planning a new drive to tackle public suspicion that the criminal justice system is more concerned with the rights of criminals than with the law-abiding majority. Tony Blair and John Reid, the Home Secretary, are preparing a series of measures to rebalance the system to give victims a greater voice in the courts and in parole decisions. The Prime Minister also expressed his frustration that law and court processes, plus the culture of the legal and political establishments, had failed to adapt to the huge rise in crime in the past century.

Times Online

29 Aug

Google to target software market

Search engine Google is launching a range of free software programmes for companies, to build on its existing communication services. The move places Google, whose focus has been searching and advertising, in direct competition with Microsoft, as it updates its Office package. Google says it is answering a demand from firms for entire software packages, over individual services.

BBC

29 Aug

Gay solicitors 'afraid to come out'

Many gay and lesbian solicitors working in large City law firms are afraid to "come out" because of the dominant macho culture which they say has "undertones of homophobia". The finding, contained in a Law Society report published today, follows an investigation into the experiences of gay and lesbian lawyers in the workplace.

Independent

29 Aug

DPP attacks 'fundamentalist' liberal lawyers

The Director of Public Prosecutions has attacked the legal establishment for its patronising attitude towards victims of crime, and warned of a rise in vigilantism unless courts are seen to be providing justice. Ken Macdonald QC accused some criminal lawyers of holding "fundamentalist" views that only the rights of the defendants mattered. He said the treatment of victims and witnesses was "appalling" and warned that an "increasingly dangerous disconnect" was emerging between the public and the criminal justice system.

Telegraph

29 Aug

Victims are not getting justice, says law chief

THE liberal legal establishment has been condemned by the Director of Public Prosecutions for its patronising attitude towards the public and victims of crime. Ken Macdonald, QC, head of the Crown Prosecution Service, said that elitist attitudes had helped to break the bond of trust between the public and the criminal justice system. In an extraordinary warning, he said that the country would enter dangerous territory if the public felt that justice was not being delivered by the courts. Mr Macdonald also called for a move away from the position held by many lawyers that only the defendants’ rights matter. Greater emphasis should be given to the rights of victims and witnesses, he said. “Few sounds are less attractive than well-educated lawyers patronising vulnerable victims of crime with inflexible platitudes.”

Times Online

28 Aug

FSA investigates iSoft

iSoft, the software company at the centre of the health services multibillion-pound overhaul, is under investigation by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). 'The group has now received notification from the FSA that they will be undertaking a formal investigation into the possible (sic) accounting irregularities,' iSoft said in a statement.

Accountancy Age

25 Aug

Sarbanes-Oxley – driving the narrow path between extremes

In the past weeks, extensions to compliance dates have been given by the US’s SEC to small and overseas companies (see Regulatory News 15th August). At the same time we see potential polarity of positions being taken by the SEC’s Christopher Cox and the new US Treasury Secretary, Hank Paulson (see Newsletter 4, August 2006). Can the SEC steer SOX through these troubled waters?

Chase Cooper

25 Aug

Law firms rake in £10.8bn in fees

BRITAIN’S lawyers are reaping huge profits with a record £10.8 billion billed in legal fees by the top 100 corporate firms this year. Lawyers personally made a collective profit of £3.5 billion, up by 20 per cent on the year before, according to a survey yesterday. Profits per partner hit a record £1,160,000 in one top City law firm, Slaughter and May, while the average profit across all 6,557 partners in the top 100 law firms reached £537,322. The year also saw the arrival of the world’s first £1 billion law firm — Clifford Chance, which billed £1.030 billion in legal fees during 2006.

Times Online

25 Aug

City law firm Clifford Chance is world's first £1bn legal business

A British law firm has become the world's first £1bn legal business after reporting record profits from advising on deals across the world. Clifford Chance was among a clutch of City law firms to smash previous profits records, which has helped to create nearly 400 new millionaire lawyers, according to tables published today. The UK's top 100 law firms collectively billed their clients £10.8bn in 2006, up 12 per cent on last year, and made a clear profit of £3.5bn, up by a staggering 20 per cent.

Independent

25 Aug

Boiler room middlemen shut down

A UK company that helped foreign boiler rooms cheat British investors out of £4 million has been closed down by the High Court. Securetrade & Title Company, based in East Sussex, was placed in liquidation last night at the request of the Financial Services Authority. The FSA told the court that the company helped arrange unauthorised share deals worth £4 million for around 500 UK investors. Boiler rooms cold-call potential customers and use high-pressure sales techniques to convince them to buy shares, usually in companies that are not listed on a recognised stock exchange making them very difficult to sell.

Times Online

24 Aug

Forget ball tampering - this is really serious:

Solicitors and accountants representing Leyland Motors Sports Club's new trustees advised them to sell their main assets as soon as possible to erase debts of £150,000, which could spell the end of cricket at the Sandy Lane ground. Former Motors player and now life vice president of the cricket club Derek Leadbetter has spoken out about the possible closure and merger with neighbours Leyland and Farington, following revelations of escalating debts.

Debt crisis: We must act to save future of cricket

Leyland Today

23 Aug

Crook solicitor stole £70,000 from helpless disabled client

A MAN once seen as a potential future Tory leader in the Lothians has admitted stealing £70,000 from a disabled man. Former Conservative councillor for Prestonfield and Mayfield, Iain Catto, 41, who is also a former solicitor, pretended to care for Francis Fleming after he became partially paralysed. Catto, an elected member from 1990 to 1994, had pretended to be a close friend of Mr Fleming, 59, and volunteered to pay his bills and organise his life. But he was regularly withdrawing sums up to £15,000 a time from his client's accounts to fund his own lavish lifestyle. He even sold some of his victim's shares.

The Scotsman

23 Aug

Man stole £320,000 from employers

A 54-year-old accountant forged his boss's signature to steal £320,000 over an 11-year period, a court was told. Brian Sales had worked for a small firm of solicitors in Lowestoft for more than 30 years - but last night the father-of-two was starting a three-year, four-month jail sentence for theft. Partners and staff at Nicholson's Solicitors told the court of the “personal betrayal” they felt at the hands of Sales, who admitted writing dozens of cheques he made out to himself and to cash in order to maintain a comfortable lifestyle for himself and his family.

East Anglian Daily Press

23 Aug

Reprimanded lawyers to have records wiped clean after 'muddle'

ABOUT 250 solicitors reprimanded by the Law Society of Scotland are to have their records wiped clean after the regulator was told its disciplinary sanction was illegal. The society yesterday said it had taken the "regrettable" decision to clean the slate for hundreds of lawyers found guilty of unsatisfactory conduct in the past three years. The body took the decision to withdraw the "unsatisfactory conduct" charge after a disciplined lawyer launched a bid to overturn the ruling. Opposition MSPs last night branded the situation a "disaster" and said it made the case for a root-and-branch review of the way lawyers are policed vital.

The Scotsman

23 Aug

Lawyer's assistant jailed after £190,000 theft

THE personal assistant of one of Scotland's best-known legal figures has been jailed after stealing £190,000 from his bank accounts. Janis Dickson, 49, embezzled the equivalent of nearly £1,000 a week over a four-year period from the accounts of Professor Ross Harper, who remained unaware of his trusted assistant's actions.

The Scotsman

22 Aug

UK's richest lawyer faces Law Society ban

The senior partner of Warrington firm Avalon Solicitors has emerged as the UK's highest-earning solicitor, taking home a profit in the region of £13m last year. But he is now at risk of being struck off due to his role in the controversial miners' compensation scheme. Andrew Nulty and his firm Avalon are being hauled before a Law Society disciplinary tribunal for alleged breach of solicitors' accounting rules, practice rules and principles of practice. Avalon also allegedly took fees from miners' compensation awards despite being paid around £1,500 by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for each case handled.

The Lawyer

21 Aug

Highest-paid lawyer faces inquiry over miners' cash

A solicitor who has become Britain's highest earning lawyer is being investigated by the Law Society over allegations that millions of pounds of compensation paid to sick miners was mishandled.

Independent

21 Aug

Lawyers ‘reluctantly’ vote to accept legal aid pay deal

THE largest group of court lawyers in Scotland last night reluctantly agreed to a Scottish Executive deal over fees for court preparation work, removing its threat to paralyse the prosecution of sex offenders in Scotland's courts.

The Herald

18 Aug

Filipino 'dwarf' judge loses case

A Philippines judge who said he consulted imaginary mystic dwarves has failed to convince the Supreme Court to allow him to keep his job. Florentino Floro was appealing against a three-year inquiry which led to his removal due to incompetence and bias. He told investigators three mystic dwarves - Armand, Luis and Angel - had helped him to carry out healing sessions during breaks in his chambers. The court said psychic phenomena had no place in the judiciary.

BBC

18 Aug

Priceless Peruvian treasure recovered

LONDON (Reuters) - Police said on Thursday they had recovered a priceless ancient Peruvian headdress in London which had been stolen by looters almost 20 years ago. The headdress, depicting an image of a sea god, was seized from a lawyers' office in central London and is considered to be of "phenomenal importance" to Peruvian cultural heritage, Scotland Yard said.

Reuters

17 Aug

Access denied to the laws that govern us

Imagine having to pay to know if you are breaking a law. Soon you will, if the government has its way.

...On August 2, the government rolled out the second stage of a long-delayed project to make the consolidated law of parliament accessible to the people. So how does it look? The public - who paid for the whole project - can't get a look in...

Guardian

17 Aug

New body 'will rival Law Society'

A MAJOR schism is opening within Scotland's legal profession with lawyers across the country plotting to create a new national association to represent their interests, The Scotsman has learned. The proposed new body reflects an unprecedented militancy among Scotland's 1,500 registered legal-aid lawyers and a rejection of the traditional representative role played for decades by the Law Society of Scotland.

The Scotsman

17 Aug

VAT fraud millions: 22 arrested

Twenty-two people were arrested yesterday after an investigation into a VAT fraud believed to be worth hundreds of millions of pounds. Fifteen were detained in Glasgow, five in Manchester and two in London after customs officers and police raided more than 60 locations in the early hours. The investigation, the biggest ever by HM Revenue & Customs, centres on a sophisticated tax scam known as carousel fraud.

Telegraph

16 Aug

Police push for 'instant justice'

Police are considering asking ministers for more powers to impose "instant justice" for anti-social activities. The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) may push for more powers to penalise people without a court appearance. It has heard proposals from one assistant chief constable for powers to exclude teens from city centres, and to ban gangs from mixing with each other.

BBC

15 Aug

Post-SIF landscape sees fall in conveyancing claim numbers

The first five years of an open market for solicitors' professional indemnity insurance saw a complete change in the claims environment, according to new research. Brokers Alexander Forbes compared the profile of claims against solicitors made under the Solicitors Indemnity Fund (SIF), which stopped taking new business in 2000, with the profile of claims made since. Professional indemnity advisers said the open market had been good for solicitors. Barlow Lyde & Gilbert partner Sarah Clover said: "In general terms the profession's paying very modest premiums for the cover that it's getting."

The Lawyer

14 Aug

Lawyer forged contract and then lied to tribunal

Temporarily removed 29 Aug

Bournemouth Echo

14 Aug

Caymans to require wider disclosure for hedge funds

Looking to strengthen data collection efforts in Cayman Islands' burgeoning hedge fund industry, regulators are instituting new electronic reporting requirements aimed at better tracking the estimated $1.3 trillion (690 billion pound) industry, a senior Cayman official said. The system requires Cayman-registered hedge funds to disclose 31 key data points, including assets managed, key personnel, strategies employed and significant corporate changes, said Gary Linford, head of Investment and Securities Division, Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA). The move comes as Cayman-registered funds, which grew by 1,893 in the 12 months to June, now number more than 7,900 and could hit 8,000 by September. Most new funds started in the United States, Europe or elsewhere now establish an offshore entity along with their domestic fund, mainly to attract international investors.

Reuters

14 Aug

Trade tainted by VAT fraud rises

Almost £10bn ($18.9bn) worth of export trade was associated with Value Added Tax (VAT) fraud during the three months to June, official figures show. This is up by 50% from the first three months of 2006, Office for National Statistics figures show. So-called carousel fraud is involved in many of the cases, causing vast losses to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The latest HMRC figures indicated an estimated VAT fraud loss to the UK in 2004-5 of between £1.1bn and £1.9bn.

BBC

12 Aug

HSBC must defend in fraud lawsuit

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal appeals court ruled that Bank of America Corp. , HSBC Holdings Plc and Sterling Bancorp must defend against a lawsuit related to a lawyer's Ponzi scheme that defrauded Orthodox Jews and others out of millions of dollars. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday reinstated state law claims brought by dozens of investors alleging that the banks were negligent, and aided and abetted a breach of fiduciary duty.

The Scotsman

10 Aug

Lawyers accuse Crown on injustices

SENIOR lawyers have accused the Crown Office of allowing serious miscarriages of justice as a result of a system which fails to show the defence key evidence. Despite rulings from the House of Lords and European courts which state police and witness statements should be passed on to the defence as a matter of course, lawyers claim that key information is still being withheld.

The Herald

10 Aug

Law Soc slams government plans for fraud trials

The Law Society and solicitors have hit out at new government proposals suggesting that judges be allowed to dismiss defendants’ advisers in very high cost fraud trials. The proposal was made in a Department of Constitutional Affairs (DCA) consultation paper published last week (4 August) on judicial powers to manage conflict of interest and capacity issues in very high cost criminal cases. The paper proposes that judges should be given “the power to order the withdrawal of a defendant’s representative where there appears to be a risk of conflict of interest or where it is considered that the barrister or solicitor lacks sufficient capacity which threatens the efficient conduct and progress of the trial.” The consultation only concerns Very High Cost Cases (VHCCs) scheduled to last over 41 days, which tend to be high-value fraud, money laundering and other white-collar crime issues.

The Lawyer

10 Aug

Lawyers throw support behind Goldsmith’s UK fraud review

City lawyers back Government proposals for reform of the UK’s white-collar crime regime. Charlotte Edmond reports on the results of the latest Big Question survey. Set-piece Government proposals to beef up the UK’s record on prosecuting white-collar criminals have won broad backing from City lawyers, with the profession conceding that the current regime often fails to make the grade.

Legal Week

10 Aug

A judicial sledgehammer

Allowing judges to sack defence lawyers sets a bad precedent
Holding a trial is extremely expensive, and is not going to get cheaper. Not only does the Human Rights Act add a new, time-consuming dimension to both prosecution and defence; but high-profile cases, involving fraud, terrorism or organised crime, are often complex, may involve at least half a dozen defendants and require sophisticated security arrangements.

Times Online

10 Aug

Judges to curb costs of complex trials by sacking defence lawyers

JUDGES will be given the power to dismiss lawyers in ever-lengthier terrorist and fraud trials under government proposals to curb the multi- million-pound costs of cases. Barristers and solicitors would be ordered to stop representing their clients if judges believed that they were unable to cope with the volume of work involved in handling a big case. The proposal comes amid mounting concern at the length of time it is taking for terror trials to start. In some incidences it is two years before a case is even brought to the trial opening.

Times Online

10 Aug

Pensioner's smallholding to be sold from under her

TANYA OETZMANN should be enjoying retirement. But at 72 she gets up before dawn to tend her smallholding of cows and pigs — and not just for the love of it; it is her livelihood. Not, though, for much longer. Oetzmann will soon be forced to sell her seven acres in settlement of a legal dispute that saw her end up bankrupt through no fault of her own.

Times Online

08 Aug

Police team-ups beat Nigeria's scammers

As part of BBC World Service's series on Intercontinental Cops, Jenny Chryss explores how investigators from London and Lagos have linked up to combat corruption and fraud in Nigeria. Globally, Nigeria has become associated with what is known as "advance fee" or 419 fraud.

BBC

07 Aug

Lawyers targeted in £34m Izodia fraud

DIRECTORS at Izodia are to target Fladgate Fielder, the prominent West End law firm, in their attempt to recoup more money to fill the £34m hole left at the failed software company by fraudster Gerald Smith. Izodia’s directors, Rory Macnamara, a City banker, and Christopher Mills, a fund manager, were brought in to recover the stolen money. Last week they won a crucial court victory in Jersey over Royal Bank of Scotland International (RBSI) for its role in the saga..."Fladgate’s former partner Nicolas Greenstone was a long-standing adviser to Smith, who is due to be sentenced next month for stealing £27m of the missing cash in August 2002."..."“How Mr Greenstone, an English solicitor, managed to certify as true a meeting which had never taken place ... is hard to understand,” said the judge. Fladgate declined to comment."

"That regulators should be impartial, and be seen by shareholders to be impartial, is important because shareholder confidence and willingness to invest depend on it.  As one exasperated Izodia shareholder remarked recently: “what is the point of investing at all, if you can never trust anyone?”"

Times Online

Background:

Dot-com director admits £34m theft - Times 25 April 2006

Supplementary reading:

Guy Thomas

06 Aug

Lawyer lands in trouble

A LAWYER faces being struck off unless he removes his own name from the profession's official register. Adrian Cole, 63, from Carlton Colville, landed himself in trouble after his name appeared on official notepaper claiming he was a solicitor when he did not have a practising certificate. An disciplinary hearing was told this week that Mr Cole had not held a valid licence to work as a solicitor since he was suspended for 12 months in 1999 for serious legal errors. But Gerald Lynch, for the Law Society, said on Tuesday that Mr Cole had sent a fax in November, 2003 to Eversheds in Cardiff on behalf of a former colleague on paper headed “Adrian E Cole, solicitor”.

The Lowestoft Journal

05 Aug

New crackdown on 'criminal money'

The PSNI and the Assets Recovery Agency are set to unveil their latest move to help track money gained from illegal activity. They are to announce training courses for 250 officers on how to recognise money laundering. The move is mainly aimed at financial investigators. They will be trained to follow money trails from "individuals with a lifestyle beyond their legitimate means back to its criminal source"..."John Bailey, chief executive of the Law Society, said it was one of the most high profile issues for the profession at the moment. "Solicitors are concerned, and understandably concerned, that they might through inadvertence, or perhaps in some cases through ignorance, become accidentally caught up in the movement of these assets," he said. "In the very few cases that have come before the courts involving solicitors,..." (Hmmm...see News Roundup UJ)

BBC

04 Aug

Fraud specialist appointed to SEC

Zoe-Vonna Palmrose, a professor of auditing at the University of Southern California, has been named as the deputy chief accountant for professional practice at the SEC. Her role – which begins next week - will see her take charge of the agency's work on audit standards. She will replace Andrew Bailey who left the SEC in December.

Accountancy Age

03 Aug

UK 'hit by soaring fraud levels'

Reported fraud in the UK surged in the first six months of the year, passing levels seen for the whole of most recent years, a study has found. Major fraud cases involving £653m came to court in 2006, up from £250m at the same time in 2005 and £392m for all of 2004, KPMG's Fraud Barometer found. So-called "supercases", involving hundreds of millions of pounds, made up a significant part of the increase. Elsewhere, crooked staff, ID fraudsters and gambling addicts drove the rise.

BBC

03 Aug

MEP seeks answers over EU domain name ‘fraud’

British Liberal MEP Diane Wallis is calling for a full investigation into the scale of a possible “fraud” involving the new .eu domain name. Eurid, the organisation designated by the European commission to allocate the new domain name, was forced last week to suspend 74,000 .eu domains.

The Parliament.com

03 Aug

Budding lawyer’s £100k bank fraud

Most budding legal eagles have a grasp of what they can possibly get away with within the bounds of the law. But when law student Andrew Curzon received a cheque for more than £100,000 that had been sent to his address by mistake, he did not bank on being caught trying to deposit the money in his own account. Curzon, 19, of Lingfield Road, Wimbledon, wrongly received a Bank of Scotland cheque for £117,533 in the post. It was made out to his elderly neighbour as a payment from a pension fund that had matured. But instead of returning it to its rightful owner, the teenager wrote his name over the pensioner's, went into the Wimbledon Village branch of NatWest and asked staff to put the sum in his bank account. (Start as you mean to carry on. UJ)

This is Hertfordshire

03 Aug

Asian solicitor wins race battle

Crown Prosecution Service found guilty of discrimination against lawyer after five-year fight

AN Asian solicitor has won a five-year battle against the Crown Prosecution Service after it was found guilty of race discrimination by Appeal Court judges. Halima Aziz was suspended from her job after being wrongly accused of making offensive remarks to a court security officer soon after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001. Her suspension was lifted on October 17, 2001, and replaced by a transfer from the Bradford branch of the CPS to the Wakefield office.
By this time, Ms Aziz was unwell and unfit for work and she complained to an employment tribunal that her treatment was discrimination on the grounds of race and sex.

Yorkshire Post

02 Aug

Lawyer claimed he was solicitor

A LAWYER who made a legal blunder faces being struck off unless he removes his own name from the profession's official register, a hearing has heard. Adrian Cole, 63, landed himself in trouble after his name appeared on official notepaper claiming he was a solicitor when he did not have a practicing certificate. An enquiry heard on Tuesday that Mr Cole had not held a valid licence to work as a solicitor since he was suspended for 12 months in 1999 for a number of serious legal errors. But Gerald Lynch, for the Law Society, said that Mr Cole had sent a fax in November 2003 to Eversheds in Cardiff on behalf of a former colleague on paper headed 'Adrian E Cole solicitor'.

East Anglian Daily Press

02 Aug

FTSE pensions gap 'remains high'

The black hole in the UK's largest company pensions shrank by just £1bn during the past year, a report says. The combined pension fund deficit of all FTSE 100 companies fell from £37bn to £36bn in the year to July, said actuary firm Lane, Clark and Peacock. Record contributions from employers and stock market growth have done little to close the pension deficit.

BBC

02 Aug

Does the Law Society have its knickers in a twist?

A quick Google for : law +society +fraud +intelligence brings a result for a pdf document published by the Law Society. The document bears the interesting title of "Testy Poo", authored by blred. Could this be Testy as in irritable or easily annoyed, or an affectionate, expansive term for an endearing document? Either way, the Poo bit needs more speculation. The document is actually a serious notification about Banking Instrument Fraud. Can't find it? Here's the original location:

www.lawsociety.org.uk/documents/downloads/dynamic/draftlsb_lawsoc_prelim.pdf

UnjustIS has so far found FOUR Testy-Poos - try the Boolean search, right.

Google for:"testy poo" (find target, right click and Save)

OR: try this Boolean search - there are more:

02 Aug

Legal Services Commission appoints new CEO

The Legal Services Commission (LSC) has appointed senior Strategic Health Authority (SHA) official Carolyn Regan as its new chief executive. Regan will join the LSC in September from the northeast London arm of the SHA, where she has been chief executive for four years, it was announced today (1 August).

Legal Week

02 Aug

Solicitors face tough drive over competence

HUNDREDS of secret disciplinary hearings held each year against solicitors are expected to go public, in a drive to rid the profession of poor standards and dishonesty. At the same time, solicitors could face regular “MoT” tests in the shape of competence checks — to ensure, in the vogue words of the Home Secretary, that they are “fit for purpose”..."Last year, of 594 adjudications held after a complaint about a solicitor, the society made 222 decisions to reprimand or severely reprimand 139 solicitors. The more serious cases, where conditions are attached to a solicitor’s practising certificate, are already made public to people who inquire." (It just ain't gonna happen. UJ)

Times Online

01 Aug

Organised crime 'on the increase'

Serious organised crime is "increasing in scope and complexity", the agency set up to tackle it has said. The Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) says that trafficking in Class A drugs, people smuggling and fraud are the biggest threats posed to the UK. Its "threat assessment" is Soca's first report since launching four months ago. The agency also says illegal immigrants are being smuggled into the UK from France for less than £150 and that criminals plan crimes in prison. The report comes as the Home Office announced that the minimum amount of illicit cash that can be taken from a criminal is being cut from £5,000 to £1,000. (Take away their pocket money, eh? That'll show 'em. UJ) The report also observes: "Serious organised criminals have a number of options when looking to realise the proceeds of their criminal activities. These include smuggling cash or assets out of the UK; laundering the money themselves; employing 'gatekeepers', such as solicitors and accountants, with access to financial facilities; corrupting or coercing bank employees; or using professional launderers." And: "Criminals target professionals, such as solicitors or accountants, with access to the financial sector and the expertise to integrate 'dirty' money into the legitimate financial system. They may be witting or unwitting, or in some cases coerced." And: "Serious organised criminals involved in non-fiscal fraud make use of corrupt or negligent professionals and collusive insiders, including solicitors." (Solicitors, however, can do no wrong in the eyes of The Law Society. UJ)

BBC (Download the full SOCA report from the BBC)

01 Aug

City chief calls for fraud action

London risks becoming a target for fraudsters thanks to the UK's weak approach to white-collar crime, a top City of London official has warned. Writing in the Financial Times, the City's policy and resources committee chairman, Michael Snyder, says the UK is suffering from "complacency". "The UK record on punishing fraudsters could be better," he says. The warning comes after the government set out proposals for stiff sentences and plea bargains for fraudsters. The Fraud Review, published by the Attorney General Lord Goldsmith earlier in July, said that too often frauds were not reported in the UK - often because the perception was that they would not be investigated. That, Lord Goldsmith said, helped fraudsters continue to find new victims and made it more difficult to spot patterns.

BBC

01 Aug

Clifford Chance and Permira link up for pro bono initiative

Clifford Chance is strengthening its relationship with client Permira by teaming up with the private equity house to offer free legal advice. The initiative follows on from the magic circle firm's similar pro bono link-up with Barclays, which marked the first time the firm has set up a pro bono initiative with a client, as first reported by The Lawyer (15 May).

The Lawyer

01 Aug

Another 'next mis-selling scandal'

Houses bought with self-certified mortgages could become the re-possessions of the future, the head of the National Association of Estate Agents has claimed. Charles Smailes was responding to press reports that fly-by-night brokers were pushing high-interest self-certified mortgages where no proof of income is needed. He said that if this was the case then trouble is being stored up for the future and lenders need to be more responsible to prevent a repeat of the 1990s. He warned that the best days of the UK economy are gone and if interest rates rise then “all we’re going to store up is a lot of repossessions and a lot of misery."

FT Adviser

31 Jul

Snyder slams lax approach to white-collar crime

Michael Snyder, the head of Kingston Smith, has warned that the Square Mile could become a 'honey pot' for fraudsters if more is not done to clampdown on white-collar crime. Snyder, who is also the chairman of policy and resources for the City of London, told the FT that the City's approach to fraud 'smacks of complacency and ignores the damage done to the City's reputation as a fair and honest place to do business and to invest'.

Financial Director

31 Jul

Lawyers face prospect of competence checks

Solicitors could face competence checks as the Law Society Regulation Board seeks to crack down on poor practice. Antony Townsend, the Law Society’s first chief executive for regulation, told the Gazette that ‘the focus on continuing professional competence is something all regulators ought to be involved in’. The development follows government plans for five-yearly MOT-style checks for doctors, based on appraisals.

Law Society Gazette

28 Jul