September 2004

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Date posted on UnjustIS

Solicitor in court on fraud charge.

A CALDERDALE solicitor was among five people to appear in court accused of taking part in a housing scam. Norman Hopwood (77), of Bramley Lane, Hipperholme, and Maria Kitson, (50), of Parkwood Street, Keighley, are charged along with Mehfooz Hussain, (26), Shakeela Bibi, (26) and Mahmood Hussain, (31), all of Fairfield Road, Idle, Bradford, with conspiracy to defraud.

Customs investigator suspended

The chief investigator at Customs and Excise has been suspended as Scotland Yard inquiries continue into a series of excise frauds in the mid-1990s. Director general of law enforcement Terry Byrne has been suspended on full pay along with solicitor David Pickup.

BBC

The Scotsman

Law Society stalls on split-up plan

The Law Society’s ruling council has rejected a bid to split Chancery Lane into separate regulatory and representative bodies — voting instead to delay a decision until after Sir David Clementi concludes his report into legal regulation.

Schools 'shying away from trips'

Too many schools do not take children on outdoor activities because they fear they would be sued if there was an accident, says schools watchdog Ofsted. But: "Accident claims had declined in 2003-04, and there was little evidence to support the idea that compensation claims were rising in the UK."

IT giant’s ex-law chief faces SEC charges

The former general counsel of Computer Associates International is facing fraud charges from US market regulators, becoming the latest senior in-house lawyer to be targeted over corporate wrongdoing.

Lawyer faces prison over embezzling from clients

A LAWYER is facing jail after admitting embezzling money from his clients. Richard McAnulty, 46, has admitted embezzling £19,484 from the accounts of a number of his clients - including almost £7000 from the estate of two who were deceased.

Tag of war

Collapsed claims giant Tag’s former employees are seeing life from the other side as they try to claim through no win, no fee. Jon Robins reports

Confusion reigns over privilege

BATTLE lines were drawn between accountants and lawyers last week, with the former angrily accusing the government of unfair treatment on the sensitive issue of legal professional privilege.

Lawyers in asbestos case agreed to destroy evidence

A leading London law firm agreed a deal to destroy documents which could be used by workers to claim compensation for asbestos-related diseases, The Independent has learnt.

Media groups challenge no-win no-fee libel deals

No-win, no-fee deals, which allow solicitors to claim up to £800 an hour if they win libel or privacy cases, are having a "chilling effect" on freedom of speech, 13 media organisations will tell the government today.

Law Society

£1M BANKRUPT IS BACK IN BUSINESS

A BANKRUPT lawyer who fleeced investors out of their life-savings while he racked up debts of £1million is back to his old tricks. Rogue solicitor Paul Anderson, 42, left dozens of people in ruins after enticing them to invest in his get-rich-quick mortgage business.

Aston Pride paid £100,000 to solicitors

The former Aston Pride regeneration partnership paid more than £100,000 without authorisation to a firm of Birmingham solicitors despite the efforts of a whistleblower to expose what was happening.

Law Society to hive off regulation

The Law Society is to split into two bodies, one to police solicitors' conduct and the other to act as their trade union, in the biggest change in its 179-year history. The move comes in the face of growing criticism that the two functions are incompatible, and ahead of an inquiry by Sir David Clementi, the former deputy governor of the Bank of England, which is expected to propose big reforms in the way legal services are regulated.

Solicitor struck off for role in fraud scheme.

Ian Wilfred Dodd had improperly assisted and/or encouraged clients and/or third parties to invest funds in a financial scheme(s) which he ought to have known was, or had the hallmarks of, an advance fee fraud.

Accountants and lawyers prepare for epic clash

Accountants and solicitors are squaring up for an epic clash after the Law Society this week said it would refuse to comply with new tax avoidance disclosure regulations coming into force in seven days.

Money scheme ruled illegal

As Andrew Lech continues to evade Canadian authorities in an $85-million investment case, a U.S. regulator has concluded the American arm of Lech's operation was a huge Ponzi scheme.

Law faces showdown with Brown on tax disclosure

Lawyers set themselves up for a showdown with the Chancellor yesterday after rejecting claims that they should reveal clients' tax plans.

Law Society votes on costs

Kamlesh Bahl, the former Law Society vice-president who lost a sex and race discrimination claim against the solicitors' professional body, is facing moves which could make her bankrupt over a costs bill of £137,000.

Lawyers Accused of 'Running Sham Practice'

Three lawyers faced being struck off today over accusations of involvement in running a sham practice.
Among them is Aurangzeb Iqbal, who represented a dozen defendants following the Bradford riots in the mid-1990s and who was involved with Bradford City Football Club.

Irish solicitor ‘made false claims to attract investor’

A SOLICITOR attempted to introduce investments into a billion dollar oil-drilling scheme by falsely claiming $10 million was being held by his employers, a disciplinary tribunal heard yesterday. Philip Merrills-Dearn, aged 35, of Kilcock, Co Kildare, formed a company for carrying out the work but used his solicitor employers’ offices and headed notepaper to add credibility, it was claimed.

Updated 27 May 2005: "...the SDT was not satisfied to the high standard required that he had been dishonest." Law Society Gazette

Chief Justice rises to the supreme challenge

As Britain sets out on a journey of judicial reform, New Zealand has reached its destination. THIS week plans to create a supreme court for the United Kingdom come back before the House of Lords. Peers are split over its merits as well as timing. But the issue is not just a local difficulty. New Zealand has trodden a similar path, creating its own Supreme Court on January 1 this year.

The Times

Stolen copy

Law Society goes to war on accountants’ privilege

The legal profession is fighting a desperate rearguard action against accountants’ attempts to claim legal privilege to limit their duty to report client information under anti-money laundering legislation.

Chancery Lane faces £1m fine threat

The Law Society could face fines of up to £1m if it fails to sort out its much-criticised complaints handling arm, the Government has confirmed.

Secrets should be safe with us, say tax experts

Arguments between lawyers and accountants over professional status and information disclosure could overshadow Government measures to crack down on money laundering and tax avoidance.

Convicted fraud made deception claim

THE man who accused Australian singer John Farnham of deceiving the public is a convicted conman who was jailed for four years over a $600,000 fraud. Former Melbourne solicitor Sam Christie - also known as Savvas Christodoulou - was also declared bankrupt in 1993 with debts estimated at $12 million.

'McLibel' pair continue court bid

Two environmental campaigners who were sued by McDonald's will take their case to the European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday.

Scottish audit body promotes whistleblowing

Audit Scotland and Public Concern at Work have joined forces to step up a campaign to persuade more public sector staff to become whistleblowers to combat fraud and danger at work.

Trusting employers under threat from fraud

Business owners believe fraud is as much of a threat to their business security as burglary but many are failing to take the most basic precautions to prevent it, according to research from accountants and business advisers MacIntyre Hudson.

EC to create public prosecutor to fight fraud

The creation of a European Public Prosecutor next year is among a number ofactions announced by the European Commission in its fight against fraud. "The worst country for fraud last year was Belgium, with a reported 470 cases, followed by the UK with 336 and Germany with 300."

Solicitors, the new superheroes (? UJ)

No caped crusaders they say, just neatly-coiffed figures in pinstripe suits and freshly laundered shirts.
But that has not stopped the Law Society from spending tens of thousands of pounds to convince us that, however unlikely it may seem, the latest heroes for these unheroic times are solicitors.

HERE WE GO AGAIN

Auditors have been called into Lincolnshire's biggest council over payments to a private firm of solicitors. Lincolnshire County Council's auditors have been asked to look into the authority's relationship with the company Wragge and Co

Fraud-finder general rides in by taxi

Britain's banking industry likes to think of itself as cutting edge, but when it comes to fraud, we are apparently 20 years behind Malaysia.

New Conduct Rules to Curb Profits Before Ethics

The vast profits being made by Britain's top lawyers will be laid bare in a report to be published tomorrow which shows the leading 100 firms sharing revenues of £9.11bn and profits of £2.7bn.

First black High Court judge

Linda Dobbs, QC, will be sworn in to her post at the end of September this year. Described by a colleague as "focused, practical and down-to-earth", Ms Dobbs will assume her new post after recently stepping down from chairing the Criminal Bar Association. (About time, too. UJ)

Taken from The Times

Guardian

Lawyers face curbs over 'profits before ethics'

New rules for solicitors as client charges spiral to £9bn

Lawyers warned over profiteering

LAWYERS were today facing a crackdown on client charges to counter fears of profiteering. The Law Society is drawing up a new code of conduct for solicitors after figures showing record profits for top firms.

Struck off for dodgy claims

A PRESTWICH solicitor has been suspended for six months and his former partner struck off following a disciplinary tribunal held over allegations their firm had been at the centre of a £750,000 legal aid scam. Declan Adams, aged 43, of Leach Mews,...

OFT issues codes of practice governing new powers of investigation

The OFT today published two codes of practice setting out how it will exercise some of its additional powers for investigating cartels.