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Solicitors and other lawyers making the bad news from 2003 to date: News Roundup
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LEADING BURNLEY LAWYERS CLEARED
TWO leading Burnley solicitors were cleared of money laundering charges
after the case against them sensationally collapsed yesterday. Mr Basil
Dearing, of SFN Solicitors in Red Lion Street, and Mr John Greenwood, a
partner at GHT in Nicholas Street, faced charges of conspiring to launder
money. The other men cleared at yesterday's hearing were: John Broughton, a 53-year-old solicitor from Foulridge, who runs a practice in Keighley; 45-year-old Anthony Radford, of Heather View, Skipton; Thomas England (56), of Seabrook Drive, Cleveland; legal representative Noel Tully (36), from Liverpool, and Melvin Radford (44), of no fixed address. They had all denied the charges. |
26 Jul |
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Ebbers sentence a warning for corporate crime The
ex-WorldCom boss’s 25 years is a strong message to white-collar crooks. By
Dominic Rushe in New York |
26 Jul |
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Legal aid 'is close to collapse' THE legal profession is preparing for a confrontation over legal aid with a warning from the head of the Law Society that the £2.1 billion scheme is near collapse. |
26 Jul |
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Probe into miners' payouts AN INDEPENDENT inquiry has been launched into the Government's multi-billion-pound compensation scheme for sick former miners. The external review was ordered after it emerged police are investigating the Union of Democratic Mineworkers amid claims senior officials have personally benefited from the £7.5bn scheme for former miners suffering from chest diseases and Vibration White Finger. Update: Miners' Claims News 2004-2007 |
23 Jul |
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£70m-a-year scam smashed in Spain A worldwide con run from post offices around Málaga in Spain has defrauded thousands of victims, including Britons, of what is thought to be more than £70m a year. Before it was broken up, the network was run like a multinational company, with bank accounts in 45 countries, according to Spanish police. More than 300 people have been arrested. |
22 Jul |
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Inquiry into £7.5bn scheme for sick miners will check 'integrity' of DTI AN INDEPENDENT inquiry is to be held into a £7.5 billion government compensation scheme for sick miners, it was announced yesterday. The external review comes after revelations in The Times about the financial relationship between three solicitors’ firms and a miners’ union that has earned several millions of pounds from the scheme. Update: Miners' Claims News 2004-2007 |
22 Jul |
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Regulation concerns trigger solicitor-wide ballot Deep concerns within the profession over plans to hive off the Law Society’s regulatory function were revealed in an impassioned debate at the Society’s annual general meeting last week, with opponents of the proposals winning the right to a postal ballot of all solicitors. |
22 Jul |
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Coal health compensation review An independent review is to take place into the administration of coal health compensation schemes for former miners. Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks announced the probe, saying it would not encroach on an ongoing police investigation into potential fraud under the schemes. Update: Miners' Claims News 2004-2007 |
21 Jul |
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She was a lawyer who forgot. So she then broke the law. But 10 years later the law remembered AN UNDER-PRESSURE council solicitor invented an entire court case to get herself out of trouble when she forgot to prosecute a landlord. Helen Keeling used Tippex, a pair of scissors, glue and a photocopier to produce documents which she handed to her employers at the former Llanelli Borough Council. |
21 Jul |
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Rich QCs should be made to
share, says Lord Falconer |
21 Jul |
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Warning signs for the funding of terror Investigating the money trail of attacks such as the London bombings or 9/11 can be a frustratingly nebulous business. Investigators are not under the illusion that financial support for such attacks comes in neat packages, or from pre-determined directions. |
21 Jul |
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Law Society under fire over level of complaints thrown out RED tape is deterring hundreds of people from pursuing complaints against lawyers while many genuine grievances are being wrongly thrown out, according to Scotland's legal watchdog. Linda Costelloe Baker,the Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman, said the Law Society of Scotland was hitting its target of dealing with 90 per cent of complaints against members within nine months but that this was "simply too long" for many. |
20 Jul |
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Get-rich-quick boss bankrupted THE scene was set for an epic battle. In Court 54 of the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Kevin Foster prepared to take on the Financial Services Authority. Instead it took just two hours for the man behind what is probably Britain's biggest easy-money scheme - and who was exposed in Financial Mail in January last year - to be declared bankrupt. |
15 Jul |
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Former FC Wil president jailed for fraud BERN, Switzerland, July 15 (Reuters) - The former president of Swiss football club FC Wil has been sentenced to five years imprisonment after embezzling 51 million Swiss francs ($40 million) from UBS bank. Andreas Hafen, a former customer adviser at UBS, was found guilty of fraud by a regional court on Friday. The 48-year-old banker admitted his crime after being arrested in November 2002. |
15 Jul |
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Solicitor jailed for client theft A solicitor has been jailed for 18 months after he stole £150,000 from two chronically ill patients and from bank accounts of dead clients. Nicholas Pounder, 46, from Porthcawl, south Wales, used the money to pay off credit card debts Swansea Crown Court was told. He admitted 16 charges of theft, two of false accounting, while 71 similar charges were taken into account. |
15 Jul |
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Under pressure What should a law firm do if it faces a media storm? Lucy Trevelyan talks to lawyers and PR specialists. It is every senior partner’s nightmare. You get up one morning and there’s a salacious story about your law firm plastered all over the tabloids. A media storm has begun, with you right in the eye. What do you do? Yorkshire firm Beresfords, which received work from the Union of Democratic Mineworkers, found itself splashed all over the broadsheets this month,... |
15 Jul |
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Summary of the Annual Report for the Legal Services Ombudsman for England and Wales 2004/2005 Read the summary, or download the full report as a pdf |
15 Jul |
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Fraud squad raids home of woman behind £7.5bn scheme for sick miners THE fraud squad has raided the home of a woman who is at the centre of a police inquiry into a £7.5 billion compensation scheme for sick miners. Detectives arrived outside Clare Walker’s house, which is also the registered address of her company, Indiclaim Ltd, at 7.20am yesterday, climbing over the front gates to gain entrance to the £500,000 property. Update: Miners' Claims News 2004-2007 |
15 Jul |
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Britain's Armed Forces 'under legal siege' Six former chiefs of the defence staff rounded on politicians, lawyers, the Ministry of Defence and the military police yesterday, claiming that their handling of military prosecutions in Iraq was led by political correctness and ignored the realities of fighting. |
15 Jul |
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STEP publishes Probate Fraud Report What it is and what
should be done about it |
14 Jul |
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Partners back loss of fraud juries but dub prosecutors weakest link Poll finds 61% of respondents back Government jury plans; 92% believe fraudsters escape punishment. UK lawyers have backed plans to abolish juries for some serious fraud trials, despite pinning the blame for the collapse of a string of high-profile cases on the prosecuting authorities. |
14 Jul |
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Top judges clash over plan for more diverse judiciary Senior judges are locked in a new battle with the lord chancellor over moves to make the judiciary more diverse, which the judges fear could dilute its quality. Lord Falconer issued proposals yesterday aimed at creating more judges who are women, from ethnic minorities, and younger, and to open some posts to candidates who are neither solicitors nor barristers. |
14 Jul |
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QC fees cut in bid to slash legal aid costs The Government has opened a new front in the battle to slash the costs of expensive trials and pump more money into the civil sector after last week unveiling the results of a controversial review of criminal legal aid. |
14 Jul |
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Legal executives to join the judiciary Legal executives, patent agents and trade mark attorneys will have the chance to become judges under changes designed to increase diversity in the judiciary. Lord Falconer, the Lord Chancellor, made the announcement this morning (Wednesday, 13 July) on behalf of the Department of Constitutional Affairs (DCA). The news follows a consultation paper on increasing diversity among judges. |
13 Jul |
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Solicitors rapped over complaints The Law Society is still failing to give an effective service to customers who complain about solicitors, a watchdog has said. Legal Services Ombudsman Zahida Manzoor said complaint handling was satisfactory in just 62 per cent of the 1,265 Law Society cases she had examined, up from 53 per cent last year, but down on the 67 per cent in the previous 12 months. In comparison, she was satisfied with nearly 79 per cent of complaints handled by the Bar Council which she examined. |
13 Jul |
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Solicitor jailed for will swindle A north Devon solicitor who swindled clients out of more than £280,000 has been jailed for three and a half years. Philip Huxtable, 58, from Hiscott near Barnstaple, was found guilty last month of 11 charges of stealing from clients. He tried to cover up his stealing by massively overcharging clients, Bournemouth Crown Court was told. The Freemason, who has since been made bankrupt, used the money to prop up his ailing business, Pitts Tuckers, and to finance a lavish lifestyle. |
13 Jul |
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Solicitor suspended for six years A BELPER solicitor has been suspended from practising for six years after facing allegations at the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal in London on Thursday. Richard Alan Kerry was suspended after admitting to allegations relating to dishonest use of clients funds, failing to deposit and reconcile accounts and charges relating to delays in winding up an estate. |
13 Jul |
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A different kind of magic |
Thunderer (Times online) |
12 Jul |
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Reading ban on leaked Harry Potter By Jack Malvern, Arts
Reporter and Richard Cleroux in Ottawa |
12 Jul |
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Third firm in pit-fund
payments |
12 Jul |
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Action group takes Law Society Council to task over government links A group of Law Society members has hit out at its representative body for becoming too close to government and out of touch with the needs of the profession ahead of this Thursday's (14 July) annual general meeting. A group of around 70 lawyers has lodged a motion, called 'resolution 5', damning the Law Society Council's policy of hiving off regulation and calling for it to remain accountable to the profession. |
11 Jul |
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Criminal barristers consider strike action over fee cuts Barristers will meet this week to discuss strike action that could severely disrupt criminal courts in England and Wales. |
11 Jul |
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Miners' fund had no fraud checks Company running £7bn scheme 'was
a sausage machine that churned out compensation' |
11 Jul |
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Expert View: What do we have to do to get a fraud-trial conviction? There are many aspects of life in contemporary New York that are incomprehensible, even ludicrous. None more so than the entire Wall Street tribe's obsession with the Hamptons, a collection of mediocre villages clutched at the wrong end of Long Island - a good three-hour drive from the city. For the Fourth of July weekend party, anyone who was anyone was there, and as I tucked into my $200 burger there was only one topic of conversation - the Scrushy acquittal. |
11 Jul |
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Wills: why you can be cheated
THOUSANDS of people are
being swindled by dishonest solicitors, legal advisers and money-grabbing
relatives, according to a report on probate fraud out on Wednesday, writes
David Budworth. |
10 Jul |
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Miners to sue for their money back A TOP London law firm is offering ex-miners and their relatives the chance to sign up to group legal action against solicitors and claims handlers who have "double charged" them. A packed Harworth meeting hosted by Bassetlaw MP John Mann heard how the big city legal experts plan to take on firms such as the UDM-owned Vendside, who have been charging miners despite getting paid by the Government. Update: Miners' Claims News 2004-2007 |
08 Jul |
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Woman, 70, conned in phone scam Police are investigating
after a south Wales pensioner lost her life savings in a competition scam.
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08 Jul |
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Barristers trapped in cheerful chappie's £130m black hole After the public announcement, the truth begins to emerge. The legal aid crisis is much deeper than Lord Falconer led reporters to believe when he briefed the press on Tuesday. What reporters were not told was that, on present projections, the legal aid budget will overspend by £130 million this year and by similar amounts in subsequent years. |
07 Jul |
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Trainee reporters face extra law exams due to flood of legislation Law exams for journalism trainees may soon have to be split into two stages because of an avalanche of new legislation affecting the press, tutors and lecturers fear. The Queen’s Speech in May proposed 50 new Bills to be dealt by Parliament – many of them including offences which could unwittingly be committed by newspapers and broadcasters and their journalists. |
07 Jul |
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Judge voices concern over pay-out claims A SENIOR judge yesterday expressed concern about reports that compensation due to miners was instead finding its way to solicitors and other third parties involved in the multi-million pound scheme. Sir Michael Turner, the judge appointed to manage the litigation, said that there was legitimate public concern that miners' compensation "goes where it is intended to go". Update: Miners' Claims News 2004-2007 |
06 Jul |
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Law Society addresses complaints The Law Society of Scotland is writing to 6000 people who have recently complained about their solicitors, after consumer groups called on the Scottish Executive to widen consultation on controversial proposals for reforming the current regulatory regime. |
06 Jul |
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Jail whistleblower wins £477,000 A whistleblower who alleged abuse of inmates at Wakefield prison has been awarded compensation of £477,600 after winning a claim for unfair dismissal. The amount awarded to former prison officer Carol Lingard is thought to be the highest for a public sector claim. |
06 Jul |
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Concerns over Revenue and
Customs merger brushed off |
06 Jul |
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Miners' lawyers investigated by society By Andrew Norfolk and Nicola Woolcock THE Law Society is investigating more than 30 firms of solicitors linked to the Government’s £7.5 billion health scheme for sick and dying miners. The society’s inquiry — its largest into solicitors’ conduct — involves several teams of investigators. Its scale emerged in the High Court yesterday at an extraordinary review of the miners’ scheme after revelations in The Times that a police fraud inquiry had been started into leading officials and employees at the Union of Democratic Mineworkers (UDM). Update: Miners' Claims News 2004-2007 |
06 Jul |
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Falconer details legal aid plan The Lord Chancellor has announced a more competitive approach to the way lawyers are paid in criminal trials, in an effort to curb legal aid spending. |
06 Jul |
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A fairer deal for legal aid This paper outlines our long-term
strategy for legal aid reform and was laid in parliament on 5 July 2005. It
sets out proposals that aim to guarantee continued fair and equal access to
justice; improve outcomes for those who most need publicly funded legal
services ensuring that the taxpayer gets value for money from those who
provide legal services. |
05 July |
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Falconer unveils Legal Aid reforms The Lord Chancellor set himself on a collision course with the legal profession as he announced fundamental reforms to the way lawyers are paid to defend criminals. Lord Falconer of Thoroton announced the appointment of Whitehall trouble-shooter Lord Carter of Coles to look in detail at the possibility of introducing competitive bidding between lawyers for Legal Aid cases. A series of immediate measures will shave £7 million from the annual criminal Legal Aid budget of £1.2 billion this year. |
05 Jul |
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‘I will continue protest against solicitor’ A CARLISLE man has vowed to continue his protest against a prominent Cumbrian solicitor despite agreeing to be bound over to keep the peace yesterday. Terence Marrs had been accused of carrying out a campaign of harassment against solicitor Anthony Butterworth between March and August last year in Carlisle and Little Salkeld. |
05 Jul |
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Man used electric underpants 'to fake heart attack' A judge yesterday threw out a claim by a man who, the court heard, used "electric underpants" to give himself fake heart attack symptoms. Marcus Danquah, 41, of Kirton Lindsey, Lincolnshire, had sought up to £300,000 in damages after claiming that a wrongly wired £34.50 Morphy Richards 42400 Comfi Grip iron gave him a heart attack. |
05 Jul |
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DCA launches judicial complaints office The Department of Constitutional Affairs (DCA) last week announced the beginning of a new era of judicial transparency with the establishment of an Office for Judicial Complaints (OJC) and a judicial appointments and conduct ombdusman. The OJC will handle judicial discipline, while the ombdusman will review the OJC's handling of complaints about judicial conduct and investigate judicial appointment complaints. |
The Lawyer | 05 Jul |
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Businessmen defrauded Dome by £4m Two men defrauded the Millennium Dome's operator out of nearly £4m to fund a "luxury lifestyle", it was revealed. Simon Brophy, 39, and David Gordon, 44, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the New Millennium Experience Company. Updated Sept 2005 |
05 Jul |
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QCs on £500,000 a year rebel at legal-aid pay cuts TOP-PAID Queen’s Counsel, who can earn £500,000 a year from the legal-aid fund, are the prime target of a cost-cutting review to be announced by ministers today. |
05 Jul |
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Bail bid in Zimbabwean asylum row A total of 50 Zimbabweans are making a mass application for bail while the dispute over their deportation back to the southern African state continues. Forty-two Zimbabweans being held in UK asylum centres are refusing food after a ban stopping their forcible return to Robert Mugabe's regime was lifted. |
04 Jul |
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Doctors 'fear criminal charges' Doctors are increasingly fearful
of facing criminal charges when patients die, experts say. |
04 Jul |
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Mining union contract may be suspended during police inquiry THE Government is considering suspending its contract with a union at the heart of a police probe over the multi-million-pound miners' compensation scheme. The Union of Democratic Mineworkers is under investigation amid claims senior officials have personally benefited from the £7.5bn scheme for sick former miners suffering from chest diseases and vibration white finger. Update: Miners' Claims News 2004-2007 |
04 Jul |
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Fraud inquiry prompts law firm to repay sick miners
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04 Jul |
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Duo jailed for stealing £2m in benefit fraud FRAUDSTERS who stole nearly
£2million by swindling Camden Council for a decade have been jailed. |
01 Jul |
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Banks lose right to be paid first The British banking industry was dealt a severe blow yesterday after the House of Lords ruled that lending institutions were no longer ranked as preferential claimants in insolvency cases and could be liable for huge retrospective claims. The case, Natwest v Spectrum, was ruled on unanimously by seven law lords, who found that employees and other creditors from insolvent companies should be repaid debts before banks. |
01 Jul |
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| Some data related to the news item below. | Miners Claims Data examples | 02 Jul |
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Miners' officials to stand down over fraud inquiry TWO senior officials of a mineworkers’ union who are being investigated by the police over the administration of the world’s largest industrial compensation scheme are to stand down... "Josh Battle, 27, whose father, John, was the Energy Minister in 1999 when the first of the compensation schemes was set up, has worked since last year as a marketing consultant for the Doncaster law firm Beresfords, which has earned £27.2 million in government fees for settling miners’ claims." Update: Miners' Claims News 2004-2007 |
01 Jul |
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£2m pension fund fraud solicitor jailed A SOLICITOR who helped his client plunder more than £2m from the pension fund of hundreds of Scottish workers was jailed for two years yesterday. Carsten Iversen, 44, played a "vital role" in reassuring trustees that a complex cash transfer scheme was above board. |
01 Jul |
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Law Soc in bid to approve pro bono initiative The Law
Society is moving to green-light law firm plans to plough expired client
funds into pro bono initiatives as it emerges magic circle giant Clifford
Chance (CC) has added its support to the move. |
30 Jun |
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Probe launched into "Crazy Frog" sales tactics The regulator that oversees premium-rate phone services is launching a probe into the wildly popular "Crazy Frog" mobile phone ringtone, after complaints that it dupes children into signing up for an expensive subscription plan. |
30 Jun |
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Fraudster Ordered to Pay £10 Million Compensation A former top businessman was today ordered to pay more than £10 million compensation following one of Britain’s biggest accountancy cons. Carl Cushnie, who was jailed for six years last year, was made the subject of a confiscation order at Southwark Crown Court in London. The money is to be paid to defrauded investors who are also still free to pursue civil actions for damages. Cushnie has until April 2007 to comply or face an additional three years in jail. |
30 Jun |