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Beyond naming and shaming

There are better methods than publishing complaints records to improve client service in the legal profession, writes Helen Davies
Providing high-quality client care is an essential part of a solicitor’s practice – enshrined in rules 1 and 2 of the Code of Conduct. A solicitor’s ability to respond positively to client complaints is a tangible expression of their professionalism. However, the Legal Complaints Service (LCS) receives nearly 20,000 complaints annually regarding poor client service. While, this year, 20% have not been upheld, the numbers imply room for improvement. The Law Society, as a representative body, is committed to assisting the profession achieve this. (???. UJ)

Law Society Gazette

30 Nov

Solicitors lead way on fraud reporting

Solicitors filed 11,300 suspicious activity reports (SARs), or 14% of all non-banking sector reports and more than any other professional group, according to the first SARs annual report by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), which has been obtained by the Gazette. The number of SARs logged by solicitors has increased dramatically since the Proceeds of Organised Crime Act 2002. Before, lawyers were heavily criticised for making only 1% of the 31,251 suspicious transaction reports logged during 2001/02. The figure for the year to 30 September 2007 represents a near 4,000% increase. There is, however, concern among professionals regarding the cost and efficiency of the SARs regime.

Law Society Gazette

30 Nov

Society hits out at complaints publication plan

The Law Society this week hit out at Legal Complaints Service (LCS) proposals to publish solicitors’ complaints records, warning that it could create a ‘compensation culture’ among clients. It accused the LCS of abdicating its role in helping the profession to improve its ability to deal with complaints. The Society argued that a better way to improve client services is to build the capacity of solicitors to respond to complaints, and provide public information on firms which handle complaints well. A poll of solicitors highlighted concerns that publishing complaints could reduce access to justice for clients in areas of practice which traditionally generate more complaints, encourage firms to act defensively and thereby drive up costs, and fail to encourage a customer-focused culture within the profession. This would instead promote a ‘compensation culture’ among clients.

Law Society Gazette

30 Nov

Legal aid reforms unlawful, says top judge

The Law Society has won its battle against the Legal Services Commission over reforms to the £2bn-a-year public fund

Ministers’ reforms to the £2 billion-a-year legal aid scheme suffered a setback yesterday when the Lord Chief Justice ruled that some of its new rules breached European laws. Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers was ruling on a challenge in the Court of Appeal by solicitors to a new contract covering civil and family legal aid. The Law Society of England and Wales, which represents the solicitors' profession, has been battling over the Government’s reforms that are being brought into force by stages. (The Law Society fighting for justice? I think not. UJ)

Times Online

30 Nov

NatWest Three face jail sentence

Three British bankers extradited to the US on charges linked to Enron each look set to face a 37 month jail sentence. David Bermingham, 44, Gary Mulgrew, 45, and Giles Darby, 44, the so-called NatWest Three, admitted one charge of wire fraud after a plea bargain. A Texas judge must approve the sentence agreed as part of the deal. The bankers had faced up to 35 years in prison. They admitted conspiring with ex-Enron staff to defraud NatWest of $19m (£9m) and then split $7m between themselves. The men they conspired with - Andrew Fastow and Michael Kopper - are already in jail.

BBC

29 Nov

Many money websites are 'unclear'

One out of every four promotional websites for financial services firms are not fair or clear enough, the industry watchdog has warned. A quarter of 77 sites reviewed "failed to present information in a fair, clear and not misleading way", the Financial Services Authority (FSA) said. According to the FSA, the problems lay with poor navigation and a failure to highlight important information.

BBC

28 Nov

Judges’ details ‘posted on unencrypted discs’

An investigation into how personal information about the judiciary came to be sent by post began last night as further details emerged about lost discs containing taxpayers’ details. The Times has been told that at least ten discs holding personal information about millions of people — not two discs as originally suggested — have yet to be accounted for after they had been sent from Revenue and Customs’ offices. The Government was forced to begin a separate investigation last night after a businessman claimed that he was posted two discs containing highly sensitive information about judges, barristers and solicitors. (Fascinating. UJ)

Times Online

26 Nov

Only a foolhardy lawyer will fail to embrace change

Richard Susskind

The title of my book — The End of Lawyers? — came to me one afternoon, in early 2006, when I sat in great comfort in the ancient and splendid surroundings of the dark- wood-panelled main hall of the Mercers’ Company, in Ironmonger Lane in London. Founded in 1394, the Mercers is the longest-established instance of a great tradition in the City of London, that of “livery companies”. With origins in ancient trade guilds and, in the early days, focused on regulating their trades, there are now over 100 of these bodies.

Times Online

26 Nov

Crooked accountant admits to 53 fraud charges

Reading Crown Court has heard that Geoffrey Turner, a conman who had a string of fraud and theft convictions dating back to 1970, was in charge of all finances at marketing firm Market Penetration Services International (MPS) and its sister company Business to Business Internet International, based in High Wycombe, and between 1998 and 2001, signed 271 cheques worth thousands of pounds in his bosses' or other employees' names and channelled them into his own accounts.

Accountancy Age

22 Nov

Threat of fraud 'looms for years'

Children whose personal data has gone missing could be at risk of identity fraud for many years, credit reference agency Experian has warned. The company said fraudsters could wait until children turn 18 before trying to apply for credit in their name. Compliance director Helen Lord said this could have a "catastrophic effect" on their ability to buy or rent a home or obtain a loan or credit card.

BBC

22 Nov

Executive suspended over €20m loans to solicitors

The scandal involving multimillion-euro loans provided to two Dublin-based solicitors has claimed its first casualty within financial institutions. A senior manager at Irish Nationwide Building Society has been suspended over loans exceeding €20 million provided to Dublin-based solicitors Michael Lynn and Thomas Byrne. Brian Fitzgibbon, Irish Nationwide's head of home loans, was suspended last week and is facing a disciplinary hearing at the building society's head office in Dublin next week.

Irish Times

22 Nov

Second-class and lost in the post

If this Government is incompetent enough to lose millions of personal details, is it safe with anything?

Idiots. Utter, unbelievable, jaw-dropping, unpardonable idiots. It is beyond farce, past comprehension, criminally irresponsible and beneath contempt. All those lectures from government and authorities about keeping our personal data safe; every statement ever made about the security of the proposed NHS database of everybody's personal medical records; each claim that the Children's Database containing all their personal details will somehow make our kids safer; and of course each and every promise about the safety of the national identity register — exposed as quite, quite worthless. Because as soon as you put it on a computer, a bloke in an office can download it and stick it in an envelope and send your most personal details and mine and our children's across the country with a dodgy courier.

Times Online

21 Nov

Solicitor cleared of fraud but admits forgery

A bankrupt solicitor faces being struck off after he was convicted of forgery. A jury at Bradford Crown Court acquitted 42-year-old Philip Lowe on two charges of conspiracy to defraud in connection with a property scam after more than five hours of deliberation yesterday. But he had admitted forging a signature on a document before the start of the trial. The prosecution had alleged that Lowe had been part of a plot, which also involved five other people, to cheat owners out of properties in Rooley Lane, Bradford, and Eastburn, near Keighley.

Telegraph & Argus

17 Nov

Legal services shake-up proposed

Consumers would welcome a "one-stop shop" for all their legal needs, MSPs have been told.
A shake-up of the legal profession is currently under consideration which has raised the prospect of supermarkets and banks providing services. Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill told MSPs that change "needs to happen" in a Holyrood debate. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) called for a review earlier this year, following a super-complaint by consumer group Which? that the current set-up hinders market innovation.

Midlothian Advertiser

15 Nov

SDT granted powers to hand out unlimited fines

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) is to be granted new powers to hand out unlimited financial penalties for misconduct. Under the new plans — drawn up by Chancery Lane’s regulatory arm, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) — the SDT will handle only the most serious incidents of misconduct by lawyers in England and Wales but will be able to impose unlimited fines on a case-by-case basis.

Legal Week

15 Nov

Law Society appoints two to its first-ever litigation panel

Bevan Brittan and Mills & Reeve have emerged as the big winners on the Law Society’s first-ever litigation panel, as Chancery Lane continues its drive to centralise spending. The firms have landed the only two available places on the new panel, which will advise on representative work including proceedings begun by the society on behalf of the profession and general issues affecting solicitors.

Legal Week

15 Nov

Magistrate jailed for lies that saw man jailed

A magistrate repeatedly lied to a jury to get a man jailed for attacking him. Outwardly respectable Ian James claimed he had been attacked with a stick by Jamie Sneddon outside his home. But in fact it was the 56-year-old magistrate who chased Sneddon and his 15-year-old half brother, Ashley Wood, down a road and then beat the teenager with a wooden stick. Today James was jailed for 15 months for lying in court during two trials that led to Sneddon being jailed for 20 months for GBH.

The Argus

15 Nov

LawSoc dodges fine despite target shortfall

The Law Society’s complaints-handling arm has narrowly escaped financial sanctions from a powerful industry watchdog, it was announced yesterday (7 November), despite missing key performance targets that were part of its 2006-07 improvement plan. Legal Services Complaints Commissioner (LSCC) Zahida Manzoor confirmed that the under-fire Legal Complaints Service (LCS) would not be hit with a fine despite missing five out of 13 performance targets during the 12-month period to March 2007. The decision, which follows seven months of consultation, comes as the Law Society earmarks an additional £500,000 to improve the performance of its complaints-handling division, which generated running costs of £36.3m last year. Announcing the decision, Manzoor said: “It is disappointing that five of the 13 targets set were missed and that…the majority related to the quality of complaints-handling. (The Law Society is not interested in handling complaints - at all. UJ)

Legal Week

10 Nov

Who will police the lawyers now? Only a non-lawyer need apply . . .

Forget the McCanns, the inquest into the death of the Diana, Princess of Wales, or Heather Mills’s outburst against the media. The real story in recent days is the arrival on the statute book of the Legal Services Act which has received Royal Assent. Dry as it sounds, this piece of legislation heralds a revolution in how legal services will be delivered to the public. This week, too, an advertisement will appear in The Sunday Times for the chairman of the Legal Services Board. The body will be the first over-arching independent and publicly accountable regulator of the whole legal profession — as well as anyone else providing legal services from claims handlers to notaries, licensed conveyancers to will-writers...The running sore of the the solicitors’ profession in the past decade, handling complaints, is also overhauled. This was probably the chief stimulus to legal reform — the weight of MPs’ postbags from disgruntled clients ensured change would come about. So the Act creates a new independent ombudsman service and an Office for Legal Complaints with a single-entry system for all consumer complaints about legal services. The idea is to simplify the present complex and diverse set of arrangements between different branches of the profession.

Times Online

08 Nov

Solicitor faces fraud trial

A solicitor has gone on trial accused of being part of a plot to snap up rundown properties by cheating the owners. Philip Lowe, 42, was involved in a conspiracy led by builder-cum-property developer Mohammed Alyas, a Bradford Crown Court jury was told. Forged documents were sent to the Land Registry and the Probate Division Registry to transfer the ownership of properties in Bradford and in Eastburn, near Keighley, the court was told.

Telegraph & Argus

08 Nov

Lawyer loyalty hits rock bottom

The days of lifelong allegiance to a law firm are at end, according to a survey published today revealing that fewer than one in five assistants intend to be in their jobs in five years' time. The survey of 2,225 assistant solicitors working at large UK and US law firms found that the loyalty of assistants towards their firms is extremely low despite a year of hefty salary rises. Fewer than 20 per cent of junior assistants (0-2 years’ qualified) plan to be at their current firm in five years time, despite average pay increases of more than 25 per cent in the last two years. Salaries at the highest paying US firms now top £90,000 for a lawyer with just one year’s post-qualification experience.

Times Online

05 Nov

Banks fear more shocks in Byrne probes

Solicitor Thomas Byrne finally appeared last week, but banks are becoming more concerned about their money, writes Ian Kehoe. Depending on what rumours you believed, Thomas Byrne was either sunning himself on a Mediterranean beach or was in some other far-flung part of Europe. The Dublin solicitor had not been seen for almost a week, and rumours as to his whereabouts were widespread. These rumours had been fuelled by the fact that Byrne’s legal practice had been closed by the Law Society and it emerged that he owed several institutions more than €40 million.

Sunday Business Post

04 Nov

Banks flooded the Law Society with complaints

Last year the Law Society received nearly one complaint for every working day about solicitors who failed to comply with undertakings given for the purchase of properties. Figures seen by the Sunday Independent show that the beleaguered solicitors' body was hit by 231 such complaints in the year to August 2007, and 219 in the previous 12 months. Of the 231 complaints last year, only nine were referred to the solicitors' disciplinary tribunal. In the previous year, just 12 cases were sent to the disciplinary tribunal. The vast majority of these complaints were made by financial institutions.

Irish Independent

04 Nov

Two arrested over £5m shares fraud

POLICE investigating a £5m share scam arrested two men after raiding a property in the North-East. The pair were held in a Financial Services Authority (FSA) inquiry into so-called “boiler rooms”, which illegally target customers with cold-calling to sell overpriced shares, before vanishing with the proceeds. Wednesday’s arrests follow an FSA investigation into Universal Management Services (UMS), which the FSA believes is taking payments on behalf of overseas boiler rooms.

Journal Live

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BBC

03 Nov

Law Society opens up debate on ‘Tesco Law’

The so-called Tesco Law' that would allow legal services to be provided by places other than law firms, such as supermarkets or banks, has been thrown open to a national debate. The Law Society of Scotland yesterday issued a consultation paper which could result in changes to how legal services are delivered in future. The society is looking for views from the legal profession, politicians, consumer groups and other interested parties. It will examine whether the rules governing law firms should be relaxed to allow the legal services market to be opened up to other providers who are already gearing up to offer legal services to consumers in England and Wales.

The Herald

02 Nov

Solicitor gets two years for fraud

A disgraced Merseyside solicitor has been jailed for two years for his involvement in a £1.5 million “advance fee” fraud. David Sasson made £250,000 from the fraud, Liverpool Crown Court heard. Sasson had been struck-off after admitting stealing from his employers. His father-in-law got him a job with Carl Montlake and his business partner in 1993, working as an underwriter. Based in Bury New Road, Manchester, Alliance International Ventures was set up in 1997 and, according to prosecutor Jonathan Turner QC, was “a fraud from the outset”. He added: “Its business was ostensibly to offer funding to foreign applicants looking to raise finance for business projects abroad. “The truth is, and always was, that Alliance had no money at all. Notwithstanding their total lack of funds, Alliance began to offer overseas customers sums of anything between $500,000 and $120,000,000.”

Jewish Chronicle

02 Nov

"Humiliating reverse for the FSA"

City watchdog the Financial Services Authority has suffered a humiliating reverse in its battle against "boiler rooms", the high pressure sales outfits selling risky overseas shares to investors. The FSA has been ordered to more than halve a penalty it had imposed on a Leeds firm of solicitors for its role in a number of shares sales made by unauthorised firms in Spain to UK investors. And it has been told its dealing with boiler room issues was not direct enough to drive its message home. In September 2006, the FSA fined Fox Hayes, a Leeds law firm, £150,000 for its role in "approving for marketing purposes" "financial promotions" by offshore brokers, all in Spain. The FSA said the solicitors had not "conducted business with due skill, care and diligence." It said Fox Hayes should have had reason to doubt that "the overseas companies would deal with customers in the United Kingdom in an honest and reliable way." Fox Hayes appealed to the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal.

Financial Services & Markets Tribunal Features link to full decision in pdf format

31 Oct

Courts facing lawyers’ protest crisis

MERSEYSIDE’S criminal justice system is set to be thrown into chaos as solicitors prepare to defy Government reform of their pay scales. Law firms across the region are refusing to sign a new contract which will mean a fixed hourly fee for lawyers representing defendants on legal aid. That could mean a massive shortage of solicitors available to take on new criminal cases, if the dispute cannot be resolved by the New Year, legal experts warned last night.

Liverpool Daily Post

30 Oct

Legal Services Bill gets House of Lords' blessing

The Bar Council and Law Society welcomed the House of Lords' approval of the Legal Services Bill last Thursday (25 October). Law Society president Andrew Holroyd said the bill, once it receives Royal Assent later this week, will create a foundation for the future of the legal profession. "The Legal Services Bill has changed much since it was first published last December, and changed for the better," said Holroyd. "We had many doubts then, but now we can safely say it provides a workable basis for achieving Sir David Clementi's aims of modernising the regulatory structure."

The Lawyer

29 Oct