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Solicitors and other lawyers making the bad news from 2003 to date: News Roundup
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Law Soc council member fined over miners' compensation A Law Society council member has admitted to five breaches of professional rules in relation to his dealing with the coalminers’ compensation scheme. Glyn Maddocks, council member for the West Country and Gwent and a partner at Welsh firm Gabb and Co, was fined £15,000 at the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) and ordered to pay the costs, estimated to be £60,000. The SDT fined him the maximum £5,000 on one charge as he failed to recognise a conflict of interests between the firm and its clients as a result of his relationship with the claim farmers IDC. Other breaches included his firm paying unlawful referral fees. In addition Maddocks' firm has been ordered to repay around £160,000 to sick miners caught up in the British Coal compensation scheme saga, following the hearing this week. Gabb and Co agreed to repay the money that had been deducted from miners' damages and paid instead to IDC, an amount of less than £100 per claimant. The tribunal was told Gabb and Co had bought the miners' cases from IDC and had paid them over £110,000. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), which brought the proceedings, said the successful outcome sends a message that the authority is determined to see these cases through in the interests of miners. It is the third successful case the SRA has brought, with at least 14 more to come. |
29 Jun |
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Solicitors accuse MoJ of ‘wilful blindness’ Solicitors condemned the ‘wilful blindness’ of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) this week in refusing to acknowledge the severe threat its reforms pose to the legal aid system, after the government shrugged off damning criticisms from a cross-party committee of MPs and announced its intention to press ahead with the controversial plans. In May, the constitutional affairs select committee (CASC) branded proposals to introduce fixed fees and competitive tendering across the whole legal aid system as ‘ill-thought-out’ and a ‘breathtaking risk’ due to the fragility of the supplier base and lack of analysis of the likely impact (see [2007] Gazette, 3 May, 1). |
29 Jun |
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Out of the mouths of judges and paedophiles Yes it's him again. Judge Julian Hall has just passed sentence on a 24-year-old window cleaner who twice raped a ten-year-old girl. The judge said the child was sexually precocious and had "dressed provocatively". That's legalese for "She was asking for it" - an excuse that these days only ever comes out of the mouths of paedophiles or elderly judges. Judge Hall has some form in this area. You may remember him as the buffoon who made the news for ordering a man to pay £250 to the six-year-old girl he had groped so she could buy a nice new bike and "cheer herself up a bit". |
27 Jun |
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'I felt hunted and alone' - lawyer The work-life balance of the UK's lawyers is to come under scrutiny as part of a Law Society review to see why record numbers appear to be leaving the profession. Some say the popular belief that the life of a City lawyer is all about big bonuses, expensive holidays and flowing champagne is misguided and, in fact, the career is more likely to end in emotional or physical breakdown. One City lawyer, Zoe (not her real name), explains how her job brought on anorexia and depression, and ultimately forced her to leave a top law firm. |
27 Jun |
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“Ignorance not an excuse” warns Ministry of Justice Solicitors have been warned that they face disciplinary sanctions if they are found to be dealing with unauthorised claims management services. The warning comes, after it was ruled that as of April 23 this year, any business providing regulated claims management service must be either authorised or exempt. Any solicitor still dealing with an exempt company will now have their details passed from a government regulator to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). Mark Boleat, outgoing head of claim management regulation at the Ministry of Justice, said: “Where we find a claims management company is significantly breaking the rules of conduct and know they have passed claims to the solicitor, we will tell the SRA.” |
26 Jun |
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£1.1m earnings in a year for top legal aid barrister A little-know lawyer emerged today as the highest-paid legal aid barrister in the country, receiving more than £1.1 million in a year. Balbir Singh, who has never been made a QC, was paid £1,116,000 in 2005 to 2006, according to figures released today by the Ministry of Justice. The former magistrates' clerk is the only non-QC in the top 10 of the highest-paid barristers from criminal legal aid work only and has beaten more prestigious rivals in the pay league. |
25 Jun |
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Kremlin targets champion of hopeless causes As Russia’s leading human rights lawyer, Karinna Moskalenko battles regularly with the Kremlin in defence of Vladimir Putin’s critics. Now the Kremlin is trying to destroy her career. The Prosecutor-General’s Office is seeking to have Mrs Moskalenko disbarred on extraordinary grounds: it accuses her of negligence in defending Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former oligarch jailed by the Kremlin in its campaign to dismantle his oil company, Yukos. Khodorkovsky has made no complaint. Indeed, in a statement from his cell in the Siberian penal colony of Chita, he declared himself “fully satisfied” with Mrs Moskalenko’s work. Nevertheless, a disciplinary panel of the Moscow Bar Association will meet tomorrow to decide her fate. |
19 Jun |
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Workmates mourn slain solicitor THE solicitor gunned down in a Melbourne street yesterday as he went to a woman's aid was a warm and fun-loving person with a desire to help others, colleagues say. Brendan Keilar, 43, was shot dead as he intervened to help former model Kaera Douglas, who was being assaulted by a gunman in central Melbourne yesterday. Ms Douglas, 24, and a 25-year-old Dutch backpacker also were wounded. Mr Keilar was today being mourned by his wife Alice and their three children, by friends, and by colleagues at his Melbourne commercial law firm. Friends spoke of a caring but fearless person who would have thought it natural to step in and help someone. His firm, Norton Gledhill, said it had received a "vast" number of condolences and tributes from clients and colleagues of Mr Keilar, as well as countless others who had never met him. "The magnitude of this expression of support and condolences is a true reflection of the respect and admiration in which Brendan was held, both as a lawyer, and as a man of high moral character and concern for others," the firm said. |
Herald Sun (Aus) |
19 Jun |
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The Legal
Services Ombudsman for England and Wales, Zahida Manzoor, has called on the
Government to make the consumer its first priority when the new Legal
Services Bill comes into force. In her annual report published today (19
June), Manzoor urged Whitehall to demonstrate how and why the new system
will be an improvement for consumers over the current mechanisms for
complaints-handling in the legal profession. She also expressed concern that
recent amendments introduced by the House of Lords could mean a
watering-down of the powers handed to the Government’s new over-arching
regulator, the Legal Services Board – one of the key planks of the Bill... |
19 Jun |
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Revenue warns about more frauds Tax payers have been warned to beware of more frauds using the name of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). At least eight different frauds are now listed on the HMRC website, compared with just one last December. Among them are ones involving bogus anti-terrorist certificates, tax rebates, export clearance and even one offering compensation to fraud victims. |
19 Jun |
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Early jail release plan expected Non-violent offenders could be let out of jail early in a bid to ease prison overcrowding in England and Wales. Lord Falconer, head of the new Ministry of Justice (MoJ), is expected to make an announcement about tackling overcrowding later this week. |
19 Jun |
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Fraudster faces bill for £100m An “audacious” tax fraudster today faces a bill of almost £100 million for the long-running scam he used to fund a life of luxury. Ian Leaf, who is serving a twelve-and-a-half year jail sentence, had boasted that he owned a £5 million Swiss chateau, a private jet, a Porsche and an Aston Martin. The 51-year-old was convicted at London’s Southwark Crown Court of 13 “breathtaking and audacious” offences of fraudulent trading between 1991 and 1996. Leaf's fraud, which prosecutors called “without precedent” in the UK, involved real and bogus companies, thousands of fictitious documents and a bank registered to a small South Pacific island. |
19 Jun |
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Fox Hayes growth sees turnover top £10m (21 May 2007) Leeds-based Fox Hayes has broken through the £10m turnover barrier for the first time, posting a 23.5 per cent increase in turnover of around £2m to reach £10.5m. The firm claims to have grown by around 800 per cent over the past eight years and, on average, to have hired a new member of staff every week for the past 36 months. |
(21 May) |
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Lawyer quits after watchdog inquiry into boiler rooms A
senior partner in a legal firm at the heart of "boiler room" accusations by
watchdog Financial Services Authority has quit. Robert Manning, a senior
partner at Leeds-based solicitors Fox Hayes, resigned after his role in
secret commission-sharing ventures with a number of Spanish "boiler rooms" -
unregulated share brokers offering risky equities via high pressure sales
techniques - became public at a Financial Services and Markets Tribunal
hearing earlier this week. It is believed that Manning, who introduced the
boiler rooms to Fox Hayes, earned up to £350,000 from this. |
16 Jun |
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US lawyer ranking site raises attorney's hackles Avvo, ( A V V O ) the brand-new lawyer-ranking upstart run by some top US legal professionals and scholars, has only had its shingle hanging for a few days, and already faces a possible lawsuit over its core ranking practices. John Henry Browne, a Seattle-based criminal law attorney, has told Avvo in a letter that he has retained counsel in exploration of a potential lawsuit against the company for the low ranking it gave him when the site launched. [Note: since his letter went out, his ranking has improved somewhat, to 5.2 out of 10.] The company has stated that it plans to hold a conference call with Browne to discuss his grievances. Avvo has generated considerable buzz in the online legal services world, both before and after its launch, by raking in roughly $14m in venture capital, assembling a coterie of experienced legal professionals and scholars for its executive committee and board, and offering a service that no other legal directory currently provides: an algorithm-driven ranking system for attorneys. ($14m?? Make me an offer. UJ) |
12 Jun |
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Law firm sues former partners Hammonds, the national law firm locked in a financial dispute with 14 former partners, has taken the unusual step of suing them in the High Court. The firm, which has suffered a raft of partner defections in the last 18 months, claims the group of former partners owe the remaining partners around £3 million after profits were overpaid in two financial years. Hammonds confirmed it had issued legal proceedings against the 14 former partners, but declined to comment further. |
12 Jun |
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One of Britain’s top judges brandished a pair of black Calvin Klein briefs in court today to defend himself against a charge of flashing a young woman on a busy commuter train...“In order to remove your penis when you’re wearing your Calvin Klein briefs is it necessary to use one or two hands?” The judge replied: “If I had a pee, I would use two hands. It is the natural way of doing it.” . (Update 13 Jun: Judge cleared, BBC) |
12 Jun |
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DC judge sues over lost pants WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A judge in the U.S. capital pressed a $54 million (27 million pound) lawsuit on Tuesday against a dry cleaning shop which he said violated consumer-protection laws when it lost his pants. Roy L. Pearson, an administrative judge for the District of Columbia, told a local court that Custom Cleaners should pay the sum because a "satisfaction guaranteed" sign deceived consumers who, like him, were dissatisfied with their experience. "You will search the records of the District of Columbia courts in vain for a case of more egregious or wilful misconduct," Pearson told D.C. Judge Judith Bartnoff. The lawyer for the Korean immigrants who run the dry cleaner said Pearson was looking for a way to resolve his financial difficulties after a divorce. "It's simply a frivolous lawsuit brought by an unhappy customer with a bone to pick," attorney Chris Manning said. |
12 Jun |
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Court case dropped after 19 years One of Scotland's longest-running court cases has been dropped by judges, almost 20 years after the action was first raised. The case about architects' alleged negligence had been before lawyers since 1988. It concerned a house which was built in Livingston and completed in 1983. Appeal Court judges in Edinburgh said if they had allowed the case to proceed it still would not have been ready to come to court..."Although the action reached court, attempts were made to reach a settlement involving what were described as "spasmodic and desultory" exchanges of letters and meetings between the solicitors for both parties." |
12 Jun |
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Plumbers sexier than lawyers, Australians say Sydney - Plumbers, carpenters, and painters are more in demand than lawyers, accountants and psychiatrists, an Australian survey of marriage eligibility released Tuesday showed. |
12 Jun |
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Police turn up heat on 'boiler room' tricksters City of London detectives are warning of an explosion in so-called 'boiler rooms' punting dodgy share deals to vulnerable investors. Since January police have identified 150 boiler rooms employing high pressure and illegal sales techniques to con often elderly people into buying shares in fake companies. But they say that as quickly as the operations are shut down, new ones spring up. The new breed of boiler rooms is based overseas - typically in Berlin or Madrid - where it is easy to rent fully equipped offices for short periods-then suddenly move on once the cons have succeeded. It is hard to say how many people have been tricked in recent months, said Detective Chief Inspector Colin Cowan, but one estimate is that 2000 people have lost £3.5m in total. (See also: Alerts) |
12 Jun |
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Cost of coal almost paid Just three-quarters of Wigan's sick ex-miners have been compensated for work-related health problems – 14 years after the last pit closed. So far the world's biggest industrial injury payment scheme has paid more than £72m to thousands of former colliers across the borough, figures released today show. And National Health Service minister and Leigh MP Andy Burnham has welcomed the Government's pledge to ensure that the remaining 1,200 claims are settled over the next year at the latest. There are around 13,000 claimants across the former Wigan (NCB Western Area) coalfield...And miners and their dependents who fear they have missed out on money that has been claimed by their lawyers should contact Mr Burnham at his office. He will help them submit claims to the Law Society for the cash to be repaid. For further details, call Mr Burnham's office on 01942 248958 |
12 Jun |
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Defendants cleared of plot to kill ‘God’s banker’ The mystery of Roberto Calvi’s death survived another long inquiry yesterday, when five people accused of conspiring to murder the man known as “God’s Banker” in London 25 years ago were acquitted. Calvi was found hanged under Blackfriars Bridge on June 18, 1982, his pockets stuffed with bricks and bank-notes. Theories about who wanted Calvi dead involve Vatican-linked Mafia figures, freemasons, Italian politicians and various secret services. The prosecution during the 20-month trial in Rome maintained that Calvi was lured to London, murdered and then hanged to make it appear that he had killed himself. The judgment came as a blow to his family, who have campaigned relentlessly for inquests and inquiries. City of London Police, who had helped Italian prosecutors to make their case, expressed their frustration. “It is disappointing for Roberto Calvi’s family that those responsible for his murder have still not faced justice,” a spokeswoman said. |
06 Jun |
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FIRM GOT LEGALLY CONNED June 6, 2007 -- He looked like a lawyer; he won multimillion-dollar cases like a lawyer; he was even "snotty" and "aggressive" - just like a lawyer. But while representing some 50 clients over two years for one of Manhattan's most prestigious, white-shoe law firms, Brian Valery was not a lawyer. He hadn't even gone to law school, prosecutors said yesterday in announcing the indictment of the 32-year-old Long Island man on charges of pretending to be a lawyer and tricking his former firm into giving him a job as an attorney at $155,000 a year. In all, Valery stole $284,350 from insurance-litigation heavyweight Anderson Kill & Olick, prosecutors charge. That sum represents the difference between his attorney salary and what he would have made had he not allegedly lied, and instead remained a humble paralegal. (By contrast, phoney or bogus lawyers are condoned and encouraged in the UK. UJ) |
06 Jun |
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Why you can’t bank on law firms As interest rates rise and multi-billion-pound bank mergers and acquisitions grab the headlines, law firms appear to be increasingly running scared of taking on the mammoth financial institutions.... |
06 Jun |
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Law firm fights FSA over ‘boiler rooms’ The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is locked in a court battle with a prominent firm of solicitors that it wants to fine £150,000 for alleged offences involving overseas “boiler rooms”. Alleged regulatory breaches by Fox Hayes, a Leeds law firm, helped five boiler room firms to target more than a thousand UK investors, who lost almost $21 million in 2003 and 2004, according to court documents. Fox Hayes approved 34 financial promotions by boiler room firms, the FSA argues, and carried on in the face of numerous warning signs that their customers were not being treated fairly. Fox Hayes began its challenge yesterday in the Financial Services & Markets Tribunal, which is essentially a court of appeal for FSA enforcement decisions. |
06 Jun |
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Does big business need to panic? Only if they're violating the law The arrival on UK soil of Michael Hausfeld, the doyen of American class-action lawyers, earlier in the year has inspired some fairly excitable headlines anticipating a tidal wave of US-style group litigation. "Big business beware," cautioned a profile in The Sunday Times. Another report in the insurance press started with the simple declaration: "The eagle has landed ." "You have some wonderful laws in the UK but you also have some serious problems," reflects Hausfeld, a partner at the Washington firm of Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, offering the kind of quote likely to inspire panic in UK boardrooms. |
05 Jun |
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LCS pushes forward miners' union compensation payback initiative The Legal Complaints Service (LCS) has cut a deal with one coalminers' union that is offering refunds to thousands of sick miners embroiled in the British Coal compensation saga. Deborah Evans, LCS chief executive, said her organisation is actively pursuing complaints where deductions have been made from compensation awards by lawyers, trade unions or other parties. Evans said: "We welcome this initiative by the Durham Miners' Association [DMA] to offer a refund of deductions to its members and would encourage others to approach their clients and give them the same opportunity." The DMA has come to an arrangement that entitles 10,000 of its members to claw back contributions they made to the union's legal fighting fund. |
04 Jun |
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Boiler room victim is 91 Mrs K.C. writes: I am so ashamed I hardly feel able to tell you about my utter stupidity. Stockbroker Tresaderns in Madrid persuaded me to invest in Satellite Enterprise Corp and later Military Communications Technologies. As I was paying through solicitors Fox Hayes in Leeds, I felt secure. I made other investments too. However, a letter from Tresaderns told me they were no longer in business. At 91, I am struggling... You were fleeced. Almost all the shares you bought were in tiny American companies with little or no track record. The shares were so high-risk that legally they could not be sold to ordinary Americans. Yet Tresaderns was happy to sell them and Fox Hayes was happy to accept your cash. |
04 Jun |
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Tesco takes on 'sleepy' solicitors Tesco, the UK's largest retailer, is plotting to take on high street solicitors by launching a property conveyancing service. The supermarket is in the early stages of signing up one of a new breed of legal companies to act as a third party provider for its booming financial services arm - which already offers insurance, credit cards and mortgage searches to shoppers. The move, which could be a prelude to a full-blown estate agency practice, follows the recent liberalisation of the £20bn legal market allowing companies such as supermarkets to offer legal services to the public. The Legal Services Bill was - appropriately - dubbed the "Tesco Law". |
03 Jun |
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Shame of lawyer who stole cash from clients to help pay her debts A DISGRACED solicitor who siphoned off more than £1,300 of clients' fees said yesterday she had committed the crime to pay council tax debts and that her actions now made her feel "sick". Zosia Fraser, 29, who had excellent prospects before her dishonesty came to light, said she was struggling with debts in excess of £15,000 when she began taking money paid by clients. "It's no wonder that people love to hate lawyers," she said. |
02 Jun |
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Brothel slams illegal rivals THE Black Garter brothel at
Rockdale has fired a broadside at illegal sex operations, aiming
specifically at their low hygiene standards and the dangers they posed to
women working in them and their clients. Following this newspaper's reports
last Tuesday on brothels in St George and Sutherland Shire, Black Garter
management invited the Leader for an access-all-areas tour. |
St George & Sutherland Shire Leader (Australia) |
01 Jun |
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Beresfords refutes fee deduction claims The Chief
Executive of Beresfords solicitors has spoken out against claims that the
firm unlawfully deducted fees from miners’ compensation |
01 Jun |
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What search will be in your Home Information Pack? The councils of West Midlands and Warwickshire work together to deliver fast electronic searches for HIPs - With the introduction of Home Information Packs (HIPs) on 1st August, thirteen councils in the West Midlands and Warwickshire region have launched three events to discuss their connection to an electronic search service that enables home buyers and their agents to obtain fast access to official local authority searches. From 1st August all four bedroom and larger properties will require the home information pack, and soon after it will apply to all residential properties. |
01 Jun |
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The Which? super-complaint: 'inaccurate' and 'unhelpful' The Law Society of Scotland has been involved closely in the review and reform of the legal profession in Scotland. It is therefore disappointing that Which? did not contact the society or engage on the important issues raised by the consumer watchdog's super-complaint of legal rules in Scotland working against consumer interests. There are some fundamental errors in the super-complaint. For example, it states that both the Law Society of Scotland and the Faculty of Advocates, as the professional bodies for solicitors and advocates respectively, are "self-regulating". (Not a bad bit of finagling. A peanut is, after all, a facsimile of the Venus de Milo. UJ) |
01 Jun |
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Thousands burnt by ‘boiler room’ fraud A huge “boiler room” share fraud with as many as 10,000 suspected victims is being investigated by the City of London Police. The force revealed yesterday that it was inquiring into a German-based scam that offered shares in two allegedly fraudulent companies. More than 2,000 people are reported to have been duped into buying shares in the “businesses” – the Price Stone Group and Atlantic Capital Partners GMBH. The police are urging victims to contact them, believing that as many as 10,000 people could have been tricked. The German investigation is part of a nationwide operation, funded by agencies including the Serious Organised Crime Agency, to catch those behind the growing threat of investment scams. |
31 May |
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E&Y partners charged with tax fraud conspiracy Four current and former tax partners at Ernst & Young have been charged by a US grand jury with tax fraud conspiracy. The four are alleged to have marketed fraudulent tax shelters to wealthy clients who would otherwise have owed the IRS more than $10m (₤5m) apiece. |
31 May |
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The Cost of Failing to Know Your Client With increasing regulation and tougher penalties, KYC (Know Your Client) has been central to financial services industry compliance standards for many years. However, with several recent high profile cases in the media, once again, this is a hot topic of conversation. The introduction in Jersey of the Proceeds of Crime (Jersey) Law 1999 was designed to provide a comprehensive code to protect and enhance Jersey’s reputation as a transparent and well-regulated offshore centre. The legislation deals with confiscation orders, money laundering, handling the proceeds of crime, tipping off as well as setting up procedures to ‘forestall and prevent money laundering’. These latter procedures apply to those carrying on a financial services business. |
31 May |
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Lawyers who delay expensive terrorism trials face the sack Lawyers could be sacked if they cause delays during expensive terrorism trials under plans to speed up cases announced by the Government yesterday. Lawyers who act for several defendants accused of conspiracy charges will also face new measures. Law firms may be restricted to acting on legal aid for just one defendant per case. The reforms have been drawn up after consultation with senior judges. They are being put forward because of concern about delays in terrorism and fraud trials involving several defendants. |
31 May |
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LSC claims legal aid increases despite solicitors IN SPITE of solicitors' defections from civil Legal Aid work in protest against new contracts, the number of such cases in Huntingdonshire increased by one-fifth in the year to March. Nearly 1,100 vulnerable people living in the area have been helped with their legal problems, claims the Legal Services Commission, which administers Legal Aid. The LSC claims that the increase is the result of changes to the way solicitors are rewarded. Unsurprisingly, since not a single solicitor in the district now handles civil Legal Aid cases, it does not claim that the Huntingdonshire needy have been represented by Huntingdonshire solicitors. Only two firms now deal with subsidised family matters and just three - two based in Huntingdon and one in St Neots - now offer criminal Legal Aid services. |
31 May |
Manzoor to Government: 'Put
consumer first'
Judge shows his Calvin
Kleins in court