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Solicitors and other lawyers making the bad news from 2003 to date: News Roundup
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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." |
31 Jul |
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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'. |
31 Jul |
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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. |
28 Jul |
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Benefit cheat spared prison A MOTHER-of-three who was facing jail after involvement in a £4,100 benefits fraud walked free from court. Burnley Crown Court heard how Kelly Hunt, 25, was claiming handouts as a single mum while living with her partner..."Sentencing, Judge Norman Wright told Hunt her fraud meant taxpayers' money wasn't able to be used elsewhere. But, he added, the claim was legitimate at the start, and the fraud was over a relatively short period. The judge also said he had thought about Hunt's three children. Michael Murray, defending, said Hunt was already paying back the DWP at £16 a week. She would be paying that back for many years." (Kelly Hunt has much in common with judge Richard Gee, then? UJ) |
27 Jul |
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Simmons takes step into fraud arena Simmons & Simmons has become the first major City firm to make a serious entry into the fraud arena with the hire of rated white-collar crime specialist Louise Delahunty, who left Peters & Peters last week. Delahunty joins as Simmons’ first partner focused solely on fraud. She had been at Peters & Peters for 15 years and has advised on various fraud cases brought by customs, the Inland Revenue and the Department of Trade and Industry. She is also the former chair of the Law Society’s Money Laundering Task Force and a member of the Treasury-appointed Money Laundering Advisory Committee. |
27 Jul |
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'Cow-fraud' hits Indian banks(? UJ) The Indian financial services industry is seeing a rapid increase in the amount of fraud and corruption at present, with one of the biggest problems coming from an unlikely source – the country's population of Hindu sacred cows. The problem is biggest for India's retail banks, which are charged with the responsibility of aiding the country's still-developing agricultural industry by providing loans to farmers in order to allow them to expand their business. But as collateral on that loan, many farmers are providing their herds of sacred cows – highly valued in Indian society, and frequently used as currency or collateral in a variety of business deals. Problems are arising for the banks, however, from the tendency of farmers to borrow each other's cows whenever the bank manager pays a visit, making it look as if their herd is bigger than it actually is, allowing the farmer to obtain a bigger loan. Only when the money is all gone do the banks realise their mistake. This has forced the government to take action, with the launch of a scheme to have every sacred cow in the country electronically tagged in order to prevent the cow-fraud from getting out of control. (Surely they are just moo-ting. UJ) |
27 Jul |
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Committee opposes 'Tesco law' The Lord Chancellor’s plans for an overhaul of the legal profession to bring in "Tesco law" will lead to a state-controlled legal profession, a committee of peers and MPs warn today. In a strongly worded report on the Government’s Legal Services Bill, the committee says that the Lord Chancellor has taken a series of powers that will seriously undermine the profession’s independence.Lord Hunt of Wirral, the chairman of the committee, said: "We have unanimously warned of the damage that these proposals in their present form could do to the legal profession." The Government, he added, must not be allowed to "annexe the legal profession." "This is all about the Government wanting to control the legal profession and we have pointed out the great dangers in allowing it to do that." (Of course there are dangers contained in governmental control of the legal profession, but the Law Society has clearly thrown away its right to self-regulation, so what's the alternative? UJ) |
25 Jul |
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Legal independence 'at risk' |
25 Jul |
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Church organ solicitor jailed A solicitor who played the organ in his local church was jailed for three months on money laundering charges today. Brian Dougan, 49, of Northern Ireland, allowed £66,000 to pass through his client account while carrying out conveyancing work for a convicted criminal. Dougan, who has been asked to stand down from his position as a church elder, did not initially realise the cash came from a criminal source, but continued with the work even when he became suspicious..."Sir Stephen Lander told the Law Society Gazette that a "bent solicitor" was a "heaven-sent opportunity" for money launderers. "There are not a lot of dodgy lawyers in percentage terms, but a significant number are struck off for dishonesty. A bent solicitor is a very important asset to a criminal gang – the client account is a heaven-sent opportunity for money launderers to turn cash into legitimate assets," he said." |
24 Jul |
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Jail terms for million pound postal thieves TWO men who "brought misery to thousands" have been given eight years in prison for a million-pound postal fraud conspiracy. Daniel Karim, 23, of Newmarket Avenue, Northolt, and his long-term accomplice Michael Wilson, 24, of Central Road, Wembley, admitted conspiracy to steal from the Royal Mail when they appeared at Isleworth Crown Court on June 26. |
24 Jul |
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Passport costs rise again to combat fraud The cost of a passport is to rise for the second time in 10 months to pay for new security measures, the government announced today. The price increase means that passport fees have risen by 57% in less than a year. Opposition parties said the increase was a stealth tax to fund the government's beleaguered identity card programme. |
24 Jul |
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Insurers to launch anti-fraud bureau Insurers will this week step up efforts to tackle organised fraud, launching an independent body which will work with police and government to fight crimes which cost the industry 1.5 billion pounds a year. The Association of British Insurers said the Insurance Fraud Bureau would start work on Wednesday, with a dozen employees at an undisclosed location trawling through 160 million policies held in individual insurers' databases, checking for signs of potential fraud, from staged accidents to arson. The focus of the IFB will be organised fraud, where false claims are often linked to other criminal activities from drug dealing to gun-running. |
24 Jul |
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US-style law to allow plea bargaining for big City fraud cases Longer sentences for bigger offenders is part of a new system to deal with an annual £14bn bill A TOUGH US-style approach to big-money City fraudsters, including sharp increases in prison sentences and a national fraud squad, will be announced by the Government today. The plans, aimed at cutting the economy’s annual £14 billion fraud bill, include pleabargaining, whereby lesser defendants are offered lenient sentences or witness immunity in return for vital evidence against a “Mr Big”. Such tactics were cited by the “NatWest Three” as unfair in their unsuccessful fight to resist extradition to the US to face charges related to the Enron scandal |
24 Jul |
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New powers for UK fraud crackdown The UK is to offer fraudsters the
chance to plea bargain as part of a planned crackdown on fraud. |
24 Jul |
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Programme investigates the truth behind Rooftop Ricky's protest NEW evidence in the case of rooftop protestor Ricky Canty is due to be broadcast tonight. Mr Canty is this week expected to spend the 100th night on the roof of his home in Barry, in protest at a court order to sell his home to pay huge legal bills. But programme-makers at Wales This Week have unearthed fresh evidence that could help his case. A spokesman for the programme said, "The protest is a disagreement over how much money Mr Canty is owed after he won a major legal victory in 1994. He was awarded costs. He believes that, because he couldn't get legal aid nor afford a solicitor, he's entitled to hundreds of thousands of pounds. |
24 Jul |
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Viva Panorama! The BBC's fallen giant of current affairs is back in a prime-time slot. But Tom Mangold, who helped put it there, warns that if it fails to pull in the viewers, its credits will roll for the last time |
24 Jul |
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National fraud squad set up to thwart terror fundraisers A NATIONAL fraud squad is being set up to tackle organised crime and to choke off funding for terrorists. The unit will act like the old Scotland Yard murder squad, being dispatched to forces lacking the manpower or expertise to investigate fraud. Lord Goldsmith, the attorney-general, will announce proposals tomorrow for the City of London police economic crime unit to take responsibility for investigating fraud throughout England and Wales. |
23 Jul |
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Lawyers slam plan for public defenders MINISTERS are to increase the number of salaried public defenders in Scotland, intensifying their dispute with solicitors over legal aid fees. Private firms have attacked the plan, which will triple the number of Public Defence Solicitors’ Offices (PDSOs) in Scotland to nine and raise the number of salaried public defenders competing with them for work to about 30. The move coincides with a threatened boycott by solicitors of cases involving alleged sex offenders in protest over legal aid fees, which have not increased since 1992. |
23 Jul |
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£2m legal aid fees paid to local law firm The Northern Ireland Legal Services Commission (NILSC) has refused to name a list of top-earning solicitors who have been paid more than £23m of taxpayers' money. New figures have revealed that just 20 solicitors' firms and 20 barristers across Ulster were paid just under half of the total legal aid payments for 2005. One legal firm received more than £2m within 12 months, the Irish News reported. Two barristers collected over £500,000 each in cash payments from the public. Three solicitors' firms received £1m just for legal aid last year. The highest-paid firm received £2,188,633 in 2005. Two others were paid £1,622,150 and £1,129,538 respectively, while another received £981,345. A fifth company was paid £947,829. Overall, 18 firms were paid more than £500,000 in legal aid. Northern Ireland's 2005 legal aid bill - financed by the taxpayer - was £59.5m. |
22 Jul |
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New Law Soc president labels Falconer "naive" Law Society president Fiona Woolf has hit out at the Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, over the draft Legal Services Bill and the powers it gives to the new umbrella regulator. Speaking to The Lawyer, Woolf said: “For the Lord Chancellor to suggest to me that the Legal Services Board would not use its powers is naïve in the extreme.” |
22 Jul |
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New clampdown on carousel fraud New rules to combat carousel fraud may be introduced as early as October 2006. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) says it is planning to change the system for collecting Value Added Tax (VAT) on certain imported electronic goods. The tax system will be altered so that VAT will only be collected when items are sold by a retailer. The change should remove the chance for criminals to charge retailers VAT on imported items only to deliberately fail to hand the tax over to HMRC. |
22 Jul |
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Sue for money using the internet About 100,000 people this year are likely to take advantage of an online government service to sue those who owe them money. It is called Money Claim Online, which started in 2002 and is an internet version of the small claims court. The chances of success when using it seem high. Only 20% of claims are defended, which means they end up being heard by a judge in a county court. |
20 Jul |
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Gang boss gets 11 years in carousel fraud case Seven men have been jailed for terms of up to 11 years after a trial which laid bare the way in which gangland figures have been drawn to a sophisticated fraud that costs British taxpayers millions of pounds every day. The eight-month court case also highlighted the growing complexity of so-called carousel frauds, and demonstrated the difficulties of bringing the criminals to justice. |
20 Jul |
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Warsop MP goes head to head with UDM boss on BBC television show SPARKS flew between UDM president Neil Greatrex and Warsop MP John Mann on Sunday when the pair clashed over miners' compensation claims on BBC1's Politics Show. During the heated debate, Mr Mann accused the union boss of holding a 'reign of terror' over 65 former pitmen who recently lost a court battle against the UDM and now face costs of up to £1.2m. |
19 Jul |
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OFT secures changes to estate agent's contracts Following referrals from Which?, the OFT has secured the amendment or removal of a number of unfair terms from the contracts of 25 estate agency businesses. The terms in question breached the Estate Agents Act, the Estate Agents (Provision of Information) Regulations and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations. Amongst the terms found in a number of the contracts were: |
19 Jul |
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SFO hit by 'lack of police resources' Robert Wardle, the director of the Serious Fraud Office, has warned that lack of police resources has created an "uncomfortably wide" gap between the incidence of fraud and investigations. |
18 Jul |
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What does the future look like for solicitors? "Their future is up for grabs because of the upheavals presaged by Lord Carter's report last week on legal aid and by the Legal Services Bill. Both pose difficult challenges to the way solicitors do their work, while the Bill threatens the way the solicitors’ profession regulates itself." |
18 Jul |
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A&O loses 170,000 files in warehouse inferno A huge warehouse blaze in East London has destroyed hundreds of thousands of legal documents belonging to a number of top City firms. Allen & Overy (A&O), Norton Rose and Simmons & Simmons lost a huge number of files in last Wednesday night's (12 July) fire at a document storage warehouse belonging to Canada's Iron Mountain, on Twelvetrees Crescent in Bromley-by-Bow. As The Lawyer went to press, the firms were still assessing the extent of the damage and were waiting for Iron Mountain to give them inventories. However, A&O has lost approximately 170,000 documents, while Norton Rose is understood to have had around 7,000 files destroyed...(Convenient, eh? UJ) |
17 Jul |
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Law Society investigates terror suspects' lawyers THE Law Society is investigating the behaviour of lawyers who represent terrorist suspects, after a committee of MPs recently castigated them for what they called their “disgraceful conduct”. MPs highlighted “reprehensible” conduct by one firm, Arani & Co, which has defended the advice of the Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri to people not to co-operate with the police. |
17 Jul |
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Very rare crustacean caught by Down East lobsterman (in Dyer's bay) "The newest addition to the Mount Desert Oceanarium's lobster colony looks half-baked. But it's nothing personal.".."The rare 1-pound crustacean, caught earlier this week in Steuben, is a genetic mutation with a two-toned shell."..."Fishermen have been super to us over the years, bringing things in to us," said David Mills, the co-director and owner of the oceanarium. "Our charge is to teach people about the marine life and commercial fishing in Maine." (Bottom-feeders thrive on corruption, and frequently mutate. UJ). "Mills intends to keep the two-toned lobster over the winter and have him on display for educational purposes, though he has no plans to name him. "Lobsters are interesting but not personable," he said.." |
16 Jul |
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Kyrgyz police hunt assailants after British lawyer is shot BISHKEK, July 7 (RIA Novosti) - Police in the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan have opened an investigation into attempted murder after a British lawyer was shot in the capital in the early hours of Friday morning. |
(Russian News and Information Agency) |
15 Jul |
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An English solicitor in Kurdistan 'The longer one works in the Middle East, the more one realises that the relationship between regional governments and developers and financiers must be one of cooperative partnership and not adversarial point scoring.’ I am an English solicitor who has worked in the Middle East since 1976. Most of my working life was spent as a partner in a large London law firm and at various times I have worked in Bahrain (seconded by my firm to the Bahrain Government), Oman (where I conceived, established and managed for my firm the first international legal consultancy), and then in the United Arab Emirates where I opened offices in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi. I have also worked extensively in Kuwait and throughout the rest of the Middle East. |
15 Jul |
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FSA bans former solicitor The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has banned former solicitor Allen Elliott from carrying out regulated activities in the financial services industry. The ban follows a decision by the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal on 16 March 2006, which found Elliott was not a fit and proper person and "poses a risk to the protection of consumers and a risk to the reputation of the market”. More specifically, the Tribunal found Elliot was not able and willing to comply with the rules relating to his bankruptcy and he was found to have acted in contempt of court by breaching the freezing order. |
14 Jul |
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Legal Services: No surprises The Legal Services Bill contains few departures from the earlier White Paper. But it is no less far-reaching for its lack of the unexpected. "The Law Society and the Bar Council seem to have lost the battle to retain their regulatory powers. These will now be vested in the Legal Services Board (LSB) and delegated to "approved regulators" (such as the Law Society and the Bar Council)." (Huh? UJ) |
14 Jul |
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VAT fraud 'reaches record levels' VAT fraud in the UK has reached record levels, HM Revenue and Customs statistics are expected to show. Criminal activity may have accounted for £6.5bn worth of UK trade in the last quarter alone, says an investigation by the BBC's Panorama. Officials say that fraudsters import goods from Europe tax free, sell them with VAT, then disappear without passing the tax on to the government. In some cases goods are said to be imported and exported again and again. |
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14 Jul |
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Legal aid shakeup will cut pay of 'fat cat' QCs A radical shakeup of pay for legal aid lawyers will see the end of "fat cat" QCs and shave an estimated 20% off the soaring criminal legal aid budget over the next four years. |
14 Jul |
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Legal aid overhaul to cut costs The legal aid system is
to be dramatically reshaped in a bid to cut its massive £2 billion a year
costs. |
13 Jul |
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Lawyers criticise personal injury report The UK’s largest firm of personal injury lawyers has today hit back at a report claiming that people are more successful in seeking compensation without solicitors. Irwin Mitchell said the Association of British Insurers’ report, which found that people who did not instruct solicitors were on average awarded more compensation in a quicker time than those who did, was "highly suspicious." Colin Ettinger, a partner at Irwin Mitchell and former president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, said: "We would like to have a chance to see the methodology and the evidence behind these statistics to ensure their credibility." (See also: Solicitors seen as slow, arrogant and crooked. Tania Branigan, Guardian, August 26, 2002) |
12 Jul |
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Law Society complaints handling still not satisfactory The Law Society has made slow progress on improving its complaints-handling function according to the annual report of the Office of the Legal Services Complaints Commissioner (OLSCC), which was unveiled today (11 July). Despite a second year of steady improvements, commissioner Zahida Manzoor revealed she was not satisfied by 33% of the cases she reviewed in the period from 1 April, 2005, to 31 March, 2006. The independent body completed 1,909 investigations into complaints that were made during the year with an average turnaround per case of 3.2 months. Average compensation awarded hit £435. Total annual compensation spend reached £143,645. Manzoor commented: "Once again I am disappointed to report that the main issues arising from the consumer’s perspective continue to be delay in investigations; poor communication; acting without instruction; providing misleading information; and breaching confidentiality." |
Legal Week See also: |
12 Jul |
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Bogus WorldPay email contains Trojan virus |
12 Jul |
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Microsoft shuts down Windows 98 Microsoft is urging an estimated 70 million users of Windows 98 to upgrade as it ends support for the software. From 11 July, Microsoft will no longer help users over the phone with any problems they have with the ageing operating system. The firm will also stop providing security updates for Windows 98 from the same date. Support for the software was originally due to end in 2003, but was extended following customer protests. |
12 Jul |
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Lawyers 'may hinder compensation' Using a lawyer may not lead to faster or higher payments for personal injury insurance claims, a report has said. Research for the Association of British Insurers (ABI) suggested that injury claims on motor policies take 90 days longer to settle if a lawyer is used. Payouts are quicker but much lower if a lawyer is used to claim on an employer's liability policy, it found. However, using a lawyer does lead to larger but slower payouts when claiming on a public liability policy. |
12 Jul |
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Sarah Harman discusses with John Humphries the background to her recent troubles and the denouement in her debacle with the Family Court and the Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal. BBC Radio Four's On The Ropes offers a Listen Again opportunity. Wrestling with one's conscience has never been easy. Analysis coming soon on this web site. |
11 Jul |
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Secret justice: it's time to break the silence of the family courts A SENIOR family judge recently called for the media to be admitted to family courts to shake off the “canard of secret justice”. Lord Justice Wall’s remarks reflect the views of senior judges that the time has come for more openness in the family justice system — if only to counter accusations that the system is secretive and unfair. |
11 Jul |
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Family courts to be opened to the media LONDON (Reuters) - Family courts in England and Wales will be opened to the media to make them more accountable under proposals announced by the government on Tuesday. Under current rules, cases in family courts, such as those involving taking a child into care or disputes between parents over contact with children, are held in private and verdicts are often not made public. The government said this had led to a belief that the courts operated in secret, leading to a loss of public confidence and trust. "Public confidence depends on public scrutiny," said Constitutional Affairs Minister Harriet Harman. "It has to be seen to be believed and justice not only has to be done, it has to be seen to be done -- including in the family courts. "Greater openness will mean a greater understanding of the courts' work and recognition for those involved." Harman said the current rules meant that children, even when they were adults, found it difficult to discover why the court had ruled they should live with one parent rather than the other. |
11 Jul |
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German regulator stokes fears over Bill Germany’s legal regulator has made an unprecedented intervention in the debate over legal services reform in England and Wales to warn that firms with non-lawyer shareholders would ‘be inconsistent with the requirements of German law’ and face a major problem if they wanted to operate in the country. The letter from the Bundesrechtsanwaltskammer (BRAK) – which was sent to the joint parliamentary committee scrutinising the draft Legal Services Bill – will heighten fears about the international fall-out of the reforms. |
11 Jul |
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Britain arms itself to stop VAT fraudsters escaping with billions Britain is about to be granted an important new weapon in the fight against carousel or "missing trader" fraud as it battles to stem losses amounting to billions of pounds a year. Laszlo Kovacs, EU tax commissioner, told the Guardian that he is about to grant permission to HM Revenue & Customs to change the way it charges VAT on mobile phone and computer chip sales. |
11 Jul |
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'Secretive' DTI pays out £130,000 to whistleblowing charity Compensation of more than £130,000 has been paid by the Department of Trade and Industry to a whistleblowing charity for time-wasting and maladministration. The unprecedented payments have been made to Public Concern at Work to settle a dispute over the way the DTI handled requests for information about whistleblowing cases. |
11 Jul |
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Low earners 'live shorter lives' People from poorer backgrounds are more unhealthy and die earlier than the rich, according a study measuring the link between health and wealth. Poorer people in their fifties were 10 times more likely to die earlier than those who are richer, the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) said. That was despite an "even distribution in the quality of healthcare between different wealth groups", the IFS said. The poor often have to stop work early due to ill health, the group added. (It's true, then - white collar crooks and lawyers live longer. UJ) |
08 Jul |
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'White collar' offences must be treated as seriously as other crimes THERE remains a general misconception among the public that "white collar" crime is somehow less serious than other types of illegal activity. In reality, that sobriquet covers a whole range of nefarious activity, from fraud and embezzlement to corruption and money laundering. Taken together, they add up to a massive problem. |
08 Jul |
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Crooked Solicitors Jailed Over £5.3M con Two solicitors who conned £5.3 million out of grieving relatives to prop up their failing business were jailed for more than eight years today. Nicholas Furr, 41, and Paul Flint, 42, directors of Legacies, Will and Probate Services ltd (LWP) in Brentwood, Essex, funnelled millions from the estates of 189 deceased clients into the business accounts to keep the ailing company afloat. They also used the money to pay themselves generous salaries and run cars during the six-year scam, which was uncovered after a surprise inspection by the Department of Trade and Industry. |
07 Jul |
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Lawyers' sex case boycott to be delayed A PLANNED boycott of sex offence cases by Scots lawyers is to be temporarily suspended, it was revealed today. There has been a breakthrough in the dispute over legal aid fees after a meeting between Deputy Justice Minister Hugh Henry and the Law Society of Scotland. |
06 Jul |
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Falconer gets tough as legal aid deadline looms Secret talks about an issue at the very heart of our system of justice have now reached a critical stage. Next week, Lord Carter of Coles is due to unveil his blueprint for the future of legal aid in England and Wales. The Whitehall trouble-shooter has spent the past year in negotiations with the Law Society and the Bar Council, trying to reach agreement on how to divide the £2.1 billion legal aid budget more wisely. |
06 Jul |
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Personal Injury: Adding Insult Ongoing controversy over the alleged mishandling of the record-breaking miners' compensation scheme is the latest blow to personal injury lawyers in the UK, says Charlie Wright |
06 Jul |
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More talks needed in lawyers row Deputy justice minister Hugh Henry has met law chiefs to discuss a row that could lead to lawyers boycotting sex crime cases. Representatives from the Law Society of Scotland talks with the deputy minister over the dispute, which centres over legal aid fees. But they were unable to resolve matters, with both sides saying further talks are necessary. |
05 Jul |
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Police investigation fails to uncover top official's attacker THE investigation into a vicious knife attack on a senior Scottish legal official has been wound down after six months of police inquiries failed to identify the perpetrator, The Scotsman can reveal. Last night the officer who led the inquiry into the stabbing of Leslie Cumming, the Law Society of Scotland's chief accountant, said hopes of finding the knifeman by analysing unidentified DNA on the victim's jacket were all but dashed. |
05 Jul |
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Scotland Against Crooked Lawyers (www.sacl.info) is again suspended In its intermittent life SACL has taken much trouble to publish publicly available information about the shortcomings of lawyers in Caledonian jurisdictions. Perhaps some aspects of its publications offended public decency, or perhaps the Powers That Be took exception to some of its zealous postings? Perhaps its owners didn't pay the hosting bill? I don't know. What I do know, however, is that, one by one, the earnest detractors of the professions, as once described by George Bernard Shaw as being "a conspiracy against the laity", are being silenced. A quantity of the information published by SACL is available in the public domain on the web site of the Scottish Solicitors' Discipline Tribunal - SSDT - which is richer and more easily searched than that of the Law Society of England and Wales and its agencies. Is Scotland such a crooked country that Investigators like Leslie Cumming (see item, above) should fear for their lives, or is SACL paying the price for spurious claims of incitement to violence against lawyers? Again, I don't know, but I do wish for more transparency and honesty from the legal professions in the British Isles. UJ. For the latest status of SACL, see Similar Sites |
SACL (back as at 08 Jul) |
05 Jul |
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Ex-miners could lose homes after UDM victory A FAILED court action against the Mansfield-based Union of Democratic Mineworkers could cost 65 former miners their homes, it has emerged this week. UDM boss Neil Greatrex told Chad yesterday he had no choice but to pursue the ex-miners for the costs –– which total at least £600,000 for the union and another £600,000 for five associated solicitors' firms. The union has asked High Court Judge Sir Michael Turner to force London solicitors Greene Wood & Mclean –– who led the court battle –– into paying the costs, although a decision is not expected on this before September. |
05 Jul |
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Q: What are bent lawyers doing in the system? KUALA LUMPUR: Veteran lawyer and politician Karpal Singh yesterday claimed that some lawyers of questionable integrity were roaming the courts. The Member of Parliament for Bukit Gelugor wanted to know why no action had been taken against lawyers who had been fined for corruption or implicated in wrongdoing, or against whom police reports had been lodged. Debating the Legal Profession (Amendment) Bill 2006, the DAP chairman cast doubt on the integrity of some pf the 12,000 lawyers in the country. (Good question - deserves an answer. UJ) |
04 Jul |
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Fraud raids as more lenders are hit THE Serious Fraud Office has conducted a series of raids across the country as it widens its investigation into a mortgage scandal believed to involve tens of millions of pounds. The raids at 17 addresses were linked to the SFO's investigation into a mortgage fraud that emerged earlier this year after Cheshire Building Society said that it had lost £10m from lending on commercial properties with falsely inflated valuations..."The latest SFO action involved raids on the offices of four solicitors, three mortgage brokers, an accountancy firm and nine private homes. The premises were in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leicestershire and Hertfordshire.". |
04 Jul |
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Premises raided as part of SFO inquiry The Serious Fraud Office has carried out a string of raids across the UK at 17 premises as part of its investigation into an alleged property valuation fraud. |
04 Jul |
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Looking for regulators to get their hands dirty Britain's regulatory agencies, it seems, would be glad to be able to wash their hands of responsibility for fighting money laundering. That is understandable: chasing dirty money is a messy business that often takes both companies and regulators into strange territory. Yet it is a key part of the fight against crime and corruption. The Treasury now needs to take responsibility for leadership in that battle. |
04 Jul |
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Market for legal aid backed by ministers PLANS to replace the £2 billion legal aid scheme with a competitive marketplace in which lawyers bid to win work have won ministers’ approval. |
04 Jul |
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Law change 'to help mentally
ill' |
02 Jul |
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Shamed solicitor stripped of assets A SHAMED solicitor who created a fantasy client to fund his luxury lifestyle has been stripped of £426,414 of his assets. Silver-haired Ian Macfarlane, 46, who has been struck off the solicitors' register, used his ill-gotten gains to pay for exotic holidays, school fees for his two children, property investments and his own tax bill. Currently serving a three year and nine month jail sentence, Macfarlane admitted 26 theft offences and asked for a further 137 similar charges to be taken into consideration, involving over £800,000. |
01 Jul |
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Law Soc deficit rises to £8m The Law Society’s annual deficit rose again last year to nearly £8m, the recently-published accounts reveal. The society’s income from practising certificate fees, investments and other sources totalled £110m in 2005, up from £103m in 2004. But expenditure rose by a greater amount to £118m, from £108.6m the previous year. However the society’s acquisition of the Solicitors Indemnity Fund (SIF) meant that £30m was added to the income side of the balance sheet, enabling the organisation to end the year in credit. |
30 Jun |