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Why is there outcry about the expenses paid to TDs but no such outcry about fees to Barristers?

The Irish Daily Star, Monday, December 22 2008

Top Fees for lawyer who jailed O'Reilly by Gordon Deegan.

The lawyer who successfully prosecuted Joe O'Reilly for the murder of his wife Rachel received the highest amount of fees paid to barristers by the State last year.

Figures released by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) yesterday show that leading senior counsel Denis Vaughan Buckley received more than 320,00 Euro in fees to prosecute cases on behalf of the State in 2007.

Mr Vaughan Buckley formed part of the total 14 million Euro  paid out to senior and junior counsel last year by the DPP for the prosecution of court cases across the country.

The payout of 14.23 million Euro represents a 17.7 per cent increase on the 12 million Euro paid in 2006.

The figures last year show that 39 senior counsel received 3.8 million Euro in total while 116 junior counsel shared 10.3 million Euro.

This compares to 39 senior counsel receiving 3.5 million Euro and 128 junior counsel receiving 8.5 million Euro in 2006.

The figures reveal that the amount paid to counsel last year from the DPP’s overall spend increased from 38 per cent in 2006 to 41 per cent last year.

Mr Vaughan Buckley was the lead prosecutor in the 20 – day trial of Joe O’Reilly last year and he was back in the Court of Criminal Appeal last week to challenge the grounds of appeal made by O’Reilly against his conviction.

The O’Reilly trial contributed to Mr Vaughan Buckley increasing his fees from the DPP last year by 58 per cent over the 2006 amount when he received 208,879 Euro.

More recently Mr Vaughan Buckley acted on behalf of the DPP in the Siobhan Kearney case – where her husband Brian Kearney, was convicted of Murder.

He also prosecuted former Killaloe, Co Clare, doctor Paschal Carmody – who is currently opposing the DPP’s decision to seek a retrial of 11 outstanding charges against him.

Mr Vaughan Buckley also acted with the highest earning junior counsel, Dominic McGinn BL., when Waterford man John O’Brien was found not guilty of the October 2007 murder of his wife, Meg Walsh.

Mr McGinn received 322,796 in fees from the DPP last year – the second highest overall amount.

Other high earners included high-profile newspaper columnist and regular television and radio contributor Paul Anthony McDermott BL., who received 283,974 Euro. Isobel Kennedy SC 247,252 Euro. Thomas O’Connell SC 246,854 Euro. Pauline Walley SC 233,281 Euro.

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The Irish Daily Star, Monday, December 22 2008

Ex-Taoiseach racks up 3,300 Euro phone bill

TALK AIN'T CHEAP FOR CHATTY BERTIE by Robert Cox.

Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has racked up a 3,300 Euro mobile phone bill since he left office in May – three times an average annual phone bill.

Mr Ahern – like all former Taoisigh – is entitled to a free phone as part of his retirement package.

Figures for other former leaders show Garrett Fitzgerald spent 5,650 Euro between June 2006 and October 2008 while Albert Reynolds incurred a bill of 3,839 Euro.

EU ambassador to Washington and former Taoiseach John Bruton ran up a 3,720 Euro bill for the same period.

Intriguingly, 534.25 Euro in charges were incurred between June and December 2006 on Charlie Haughey’s phone. Mr. Haughey died on June 13 that year.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that more that 50 TDs raked in more than 50,000 Euro in expenses and allowances on top of their salaries in the first 11 months of 2008.

The latest figures detail the largest claims from some of the 166 Dail deputies – with economists warning that such payouts are unsustainable.

The payouts are despite the Dail having sat for only 96 days in 2008.

“The huge sums of money are totally not sustainable, particularly when people are losing their jobs or taking savage pay cuts,” said Jim Power of Friends First. “Some TDs are almost doubling their pay through expenses and allowances.”

“How do  they expect to have any moral authority when they are acting like this?”

“Given where the country is expenses and allowances should be capped.”

The largest claim was by Fianna Fail’s Waterford TD Brendan Kenneally for 93,880 Euro – which  is almost the basic 100,000 Euro TD’s basic salary.

This consisted of 73,857 Euro in expenses and his allowance of 20,023 Euro as chair of Oireachtas Justice Committee.

The largest claim for just expenses was by Fine Gael Clare TD Pat Breen, who sought 81,379 Euro up to December 1st 2008 but didn't receive any additional allowance.

Kerry Independent TD Jackie Healy-Rae was the second highest claimant with 89,705 Euro, followed by Fine Gael Cork TD Bernard Allen with 88,831 Euro.

Dublin TDs claimed a total of 1.4 million Euro in expenses and allowances – with 21 deputies based in the capital racking up more than 30,000 Euro each in expenses.

Bertie Ahern featured prominently for once, claiming 54,705 Euro in expenses since stepping down from the top job in May – including 43,866.22 for maintenance work at a constituency office.

Top 10 Expenses Claimants:-
Brendan Kennealy (Waterford) Expenses (E) 73,857 Euro; Expenses and allowances (TE) 93,880 Euro.
Jackie Healy-Rae (Kerry S)  (E) 69,682 Euro; (TE) 89,705 Euro.
Bernard Allen (Cork NC)  (E) 68,808 Euro; (TE) 88,831 Euro.
Michael Moynihan (Cork NC)  (E) 66,928 Euro; (TE) 86,951 Euro.
Sean Fleming (Laois-Offaly)  (E) 66,805 Euro; (TE) 86,828 Euro.
John Perry (Sligo/N-Leitrim)  (E) 66,296 Euro; (TE) 86,828 Euro.
Frank Fahey (Galway West)  (E) 64,774 Euro; (TE) 84,797 Euro.
Pat Breen  (Clare)  (E) 81,379 Euro; (TE) 81,379 Euro.
MJ Nolan  (Carlow-Kilkenny)  (E) 61,221 Euro; (TE) 81,379 Euro.
PJ Sheehan  (Cork SW)  (E) 80,638 Euro; (TE) 80,638 Euro.

Derry People Donegal News, Friday, December 12, 2008 (pages one & four)

'It's time we helped each other' by Cronan Scanlon

Donegal people need to stop thinking about what they can do for themselves and start helping one another through the current economic crisis.

That was the call made by solicitor Mr. Brendan Kelly at a hastily arranged crisis meeting of business people in the Villa Rose Hotel, Ballybofey on Wednesday night.

More than seventy business people, workers and the recently unemployed gathered for the inaugural meeting of the North West Business Action Group.

The group was only set up last week by concerned businessmen from Ballybofey and Donegal Town in response to the recession which has resulted in thousands of job losses in the county in the last year.

Speaking from the floor, Mr. Kelly said the recent unemployment figures which showed a massive increase in the Finn Valley were a “disaster” for the area.

“We have got to get together and work together. For the last few years some people have got greedy and were only looking after themselves. But now we need to go back to where we were ten or fifteen years ago, back to when people looked out for one another, when there was a good community spirit and people helped each other out,” Mr. Kelly pointed out.

Those present at the meeting agreed that, as a first small step, a letter would be sent to the County Manager, Mr. Michael McLoone, seeking a freeze on car parking charges over the Christmas period.

The main topic on the night was the difficulty in getting loans from banks as well as high bank charges and interest rates. Delegates also called for a more level playing field with their Northern counterparts who benefit from a lower VAT rate.

Civil engineering contractor, Mr. Joe McMenamin, told the meeting that banks charged between five percent and nine percent interest on loan repayments. He said this gap needs to be “closed dramatically.”

Café owner Mr. John Duffy from Stranorlar called on the government to lower VAT rates in order to encourage more people to stop and do their business in Donegal.

Page 4 photograph Local businessman John Duffy making a point at the North West Business meeting in Ballybofey on Wednesday night.

Business organisation needs more people.

Mr. Brendan Dunnion, who chaired the meeting, got a rapturous response when he vowed: “We do not intend stopping here tonight. We want to take this further and make a change for the better and make sure Donegal is not left behind.”

He also called on more people from a wider geographical spread to attend next Wednesday night’s meeting at the same venue.

“We are just one week old and we need more people here from different areas and businesses to give direction,” he continued.

“We need to keep this alive and running. The main points raised here tonight will be raised with the highest authority in the country. We need to go out in force and keep pushing the issue.”

Speaking from the floor, Mr. Rory O’Donnell told the meeting that it was time for everyone to stand together.

Mr. Joe McMenamin had one final rallying call for those present.

“We need to support each other, shop local and work together. Running to ASDA (in Strabane) is no good to any of us,” Mr. McMenamin said.

It was agreed to hold another meeting next Wednesday night at 8pm in the Villa Rose Hotel, Ballybofey. For further information on the Group log on to www.nwbagroup.com and leave your comments.

P.S. Solicitor Mr Brendan Kelly is speaking words of great sense, especially his statement:-

“We have got to get together and work together. For the last few years some people have got greedy and were only looking after themselves. But now we need to go back to where we were ten or fifteen years ago, back to when people looked out for one another, when there was a good community spirit and people helped each other out,” Mr. Kelly pointed out.

P.P.S. Would some of the Solicitors and Barristers practising in Donegal, e.g. those receiving very large payouts in Legal Aid. For the last few years some people have got greedy and were only looking after themselves' need to be 'detoxified' from their greed for money?

Here is the website http://flac.htmlplanet.com/news/books03oct04.htm  for more details of the above books, i.e.
LAWYERS OR GRAVE ROBBERS?by Diarmuid Hannigan;
'THE CARTEL'  by Evan Whitton; '
THE EVIL DEEDS OF THE RATBAG PROFESSION' by Brett Dawson and
TRIAL BY VOODOO; how the Law defeats justice and democracy. by Evan Whitton.

PS. There is some brilliant artwork in LAWYERS OR GRAVE ROBBERS?by Diarmuid Hannigan;
Would it be possible for the VLPS (across the island of Ireland to organise a VLPS Conference) and  invite these authors as 'Key Note' Speakers so that the VLPS Conference could be advertised as an 'International Conference on Corruption in the Legal and Judicial System across the island of Ireland? In my professional role as a nurse lecturer at Magee campus University of Ulster, myself and a colleague have organised an Annual Mental Health associated with the theme of United Nations World Mental Health Day each year for the past six years.   People who have had 'direct' first hand experience of mental health conditions 'Experts by Experience' have always had a major contribution each conference. The 'Experts by Experience' were able to debate the issues with Department of Health Representatives and Health Professionals. In my opinion we as the VLPS could be described as  'Legal Experts by Experience' with respect to our individual experience of 'Corruption by Solicitors, Barristers, Judges and Court Registrars'.  The VLPS as 'Litigants in Person' are at an incredible disadvantage as we are having to 'Engage' with the 'Legal System' that has produced us as 'Victims'. The 'Judges' are former 'Barristers or Solicitors' and as the 'Judge' is in control of the 'Scales' which has 'one side for truth and the other for justice'.

The 'Judge' as a former 'Barrister or Solicitor' will not 'Hear' or allow the 'Lay-Litigant' to speak or introduce any 'Truth' if this 'Truth' would be detrimental to the 'Judge's colleagues' the very same 'Solicitors, Barristers, Judges and Court Registrars' that have made each one of us 'Victims of the Legal Profession' in the first place.

Given that in Ireland the elected politicians are 'Relatively Poorly' paid in comparison with Irish Solicitors and Barristers any elected politician who was formerly a solicitor or barrister and who is not Minister of Justice will not do anything (in what may be only  a few short years of power) that would jeopardise the supply of 'double-cream' to all his former 'fat-cat' colleagues.

What hope is there for a  Barrister/Solicitor/Minister of Justice to carry out any Legal Reforms that would be against the 'long-term' interests of  'Barristers or Solicitors' and for the 'interests of clients and consumers' when that same Minister of Justice will after their 'Elected Tenure' be returning once again to their 'Friends' in the 'Legal and Judicial Profession'?

Could it be argued that an 'International Conference' and similar VLPS events are needed so that 'You Can Never Improve on the Truth' can go marching on?

Firm did not have to tender for work even after scandal
THE IRISH NEWS
Thursday December 4th 2008
By Seanin Graham, Health Correspondent

Auditor Criticises Health Service Arrangements

Story includes a photograph with the caption:  INVESTIGATED: George Brangham who was charged with defrauding the NHS.

A Law Firm, which approached the health service, to take over cases from a solicitor who defrauded taxpayers also never had to go through any tendering process, a damning audit office report has revealed.

Delays by the Department of Health in setting up “new arrangements” to contract legal work in the wake of the massive corporate fraud by George Brangham are “disappointing”, the Auditor General for Northern Ireland also found.

The report is the second part of a major investigation by auditors into affairs of Mr. Brangham, who cheated the health service out of at least £270,000 in public funds over eight years.

It will be presented at the Public Accounts Committee at the assembly today, where members will have the opportunity to question senior health officials.

Earlier this year, auditors heavily criticised them for not being “sufficiently alert” to the activities of Mr. Brangham, who used his Belfast based firm Brangham, Bagnall and Co to illegally pocket taxpayer’s money.

Mr. Brangham, who died in August last year, was the only lawyer under investigation.

The firm was closed down by the Law Society in 2006, having been paid £7 million over 10 years by the health service.

It had represented 13 health services organisations, handling hundreds of compensation cases.

Today’s report examines how contracts were awarded to legal firms representing the health service before and after the Brangham scandal.

Auditors raise concerns that Brangham, Bagnall & Co and another firm, MSC Daly, have been allowed to provide legal services to the health sector without having gone through a tendering process (between 1995 and 1996 and 2006 to 2008)

MSC Daly is made up of some former staff of Brangham, Bagnall and Co and was set up in 2006.


The auditors look back to 1994 when the Department of Health decided that legal services should be contracted out to private firms. Prior to this, the Governments Central Services Agency (CSA) had been the main provider.

George Brangham, who had been the director of legal services for the CSA, saw this as an opportunity to set up a new firm and benefit from the change in law.

A “select list” was drawn up of suitable firms to represent the many health service organisations in April 1996, and the health bodies were advised to invite tenders from those on the list if they wished to use their services.

Brangham, Bagnall & Co received a substantial number of clients through the list.

However, the same list was still being used more than 12 years after its introduction.

The report’s authors note that MSC Daly took over responsibility for Mr Brangham’s cases after approaching the Department of Health, which agreed this would provide “continuity” for clients in the short term.

The auditors stress that none of MSC Daly’s solicitors “had been subject of any fraud investigation”.

In August this year, in the wake of the Brangham fraud, health minister Michael McGimpsey announced a dramatic U-turn in policy to transfer the department’s legal work back to CSA.

The report notes that “until the impact of the minister’s recent announcement. MSC Daly have continued to manage a number of cases for the health sector, despite the fact that they have not been assessed under any tendering process”.

The auditor’s conclude: “..the department have not been sufficiently proactive in ensuring that legal services, delivered on behalf of health and social services, demonstrably provide value for money..”

And they note that delays in procuring legal services in the  health service has left the department “exposed for a number of years to potential legal challenge”.

A Second Photograph of BRANGHAM BAGNALL & CO. Solicitors TELEPHONE 028 9048 8800:- With the caption. CLOSED: Shutters sown on the offices of Brangham Bagnall & Co solicitors in Dundonald.

Fraud prompted calls for inquiry.

THE exposure of the fraud committed by George Brangham against the health service prompted calls for an independent inquiry into the scandal.

It also led health minister Michael McGimpsey to announce a U-turn on private law firms handling NHS cases – with all work now to be returned in-house.

Auditors estimated that Mr. Brangham was responsible for £277,652 in fraudulent payments to his firm over a number of years, although the extent was possibly “higher than determined by available evidence”. More than 40 case files he handled could not be found.

Up until 2006, when a health service whistleblower noticed financial irregularities relating to Brangham, Bagnall & Co, the legal firm was a highly respected one.

Working from its Belfast and Dundonald offices, Mr. Brangham’s practice handled hundreds of health service compensation cases, many settlement values of more that £100,000.

The firm was founded in 1995 to take advantage of the British government’s decision to open up the Central Services Agency’s legal services to competition.

In July 2006 an irregularity “suggesting fraud” was spotted by a sharp-eyed employee of Causeway Health Trust.

The following month, following a formal complaint by the Department of Health, the Law Society moved against Mr. Brangham.
His legal practice was closed down by the Law Society on September 1st 2006.

Within weeks the Department of Health appointed an accountancy firm to review payments by health service organisations to the firm since 1999.

Mr. Brangham died of natural causes in August 2007, leaving behind unresolved legal proceedings including a bankruptcy action.


P.S. Fiona Bagnall, was the second founder member of this firm, she is now practising as a Magistrate in Royal Courts of Justice Belfast. It is most strange that she was not also charged as ‘Guilty by Association with a Serious Criminal’.

Two Donegal men, Joe Doherty and Danny Doherty were issued with a ‘life-time’ banning order because they associated with Derry man Jim Smith in a protest in which Jim Smith was demanding the return of £500 stolen by Judge Sean MacBride when he was a solicitor acting for Jim Smith in a house purchase. I was at a public meeting in Buncrana, County Donegal in 2007, when Jim Smith stated the facts as above.

Why is magistrate Fiona Bagnall (former Solicitor partner of Corrupt Solicitor George Brangham) not being charged?

There are also earlier reports in the Irish News that the amount of compensation monies amounted to £26.5 million. A similar amount to the Northern Bank Robbery, which was reported as requiring a second return journey to the Northern Bank by the ‘White Box-Type Lorry’.

Could it be said that the ‘White–Paper’ robbery by Solicitor George Brangham, (acting alone) is equally most strange?

As for Dublin Solicitor Michael Lynn, even more successful. Could his 80 million Euro ‘White-Paper’ robbery be described as ‘Northern Bank Robbery X 3’ equals Irish Criminal Solicitor on permanent holiday in Hungary?

It beggars belief that the NHS Northern Ireland prosecuted someone for a debt of six pounds and ten pence and no scrutiny of millions being paid to private solicitors. How much were the lawyers paid for the six pound ten pence prosecution?

From The Times
December 12, 2008
Beresford solicitors struck off after being found guilty over sick miners scandal

(Nick Razzell)
James Beresford: faced 11 allegations
Andrew Norfolk

How The Times broke the story
Two solicitors whose firm was paid £136 million by the Government for handling compensation claims by sick miners were struck off yesterday after a disciplinary tribunal found them guilty of dishonesty.
Jim Beresford and Doug Smith, whose misconduct was first exposed by The Times, were found to have acted with “conscious impropriety” in their dealings with a mining union that handed their law firm, Beresfords, thousands of industrial disease compensation claims.
Mr Beresford, 58, has banked more than £30 million from his firm’s work on the claims and was named last year as Britain’s highest-earning solicitor. Between 2004 and 2006, he grew richer at a rate of £37,000 per day.
RELATED LINKS
·    Beresfords - how The Times broke the story
·    Shamed solicitor plans legal ‘supermarket’
·    Solicitors tell tribunal 'we did nothing wrong'
The money bought him a £1.8 million private jet, Aston Martins, a Ferrari and extensive improvements to his home near Wetherby, West Yorkshire.
He and Mr Smith, 51, agreed to a “dubious” secret deal in 2002 under which they paid hundreds of thousands of pounds to a company owned by an employee of the Union of Democratic Mineworkers (UDM). The two men were found guilty of nine charges of misconduct involving numerous breaches of the Solicitors’ Practice Rules. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal ruled that they entered into a sham arrangement with the UDM, failed to act in the best interests of their clients, failed to give adequate advice and improperly released confidential information.
In thousands of cases they sliced money from damages to claimants. Some deductions were kept as a success fee; others went to the UDM.
Beresfords’ financial relationship with the union was revealed by The Times in 2005 and is linked to a criminal inquiry that the Serious Fraud Office has been pursuing for the past three years.
Yesterday’s ruling followed a six-day hearing during which the two men denied exploiting sick and elderly miners and insisted that earning substantial fees was no crime. David Leverton, the tribunal chairman, said that evidence given by Mr Beresford and Mr Smith was “not always believable”.
They were dealing with former miners whose understanding of legal matters was “extremely limited”. He said: “If ever there was a group of people who needed the full care and attention of their solicitor, it was these men.” Mr Beresford, he said, had described himself as an entrepreneur. His attitude had led him to place “his firm’s commercial goals before his clients’ best interests”. This was conduct unbecoming a solicitor.
“Cases such as this reflect upon the whole profession and its standing in the eyes of the public. Any solicitor who is shown to have discharged his professional duties with anything less than complete integrity and probity must expect severe sanctions.”
The Solicitors Regulation Authority, which brought the charges against the two, welcomed the tribunal’s decision to strike them off the solicitors’ roll with immediate effect.
John Mann, MP for Bassetlaw, in Nottinghamshire, waged a campaign to force Beresfords and other firms to pay back money deducted from damages awarded to his constituents. “The country has never seen greed from its professional classes on the extraordinary scale that we witnessed from the solicitors who rushed to sink their noses into the coal-health feeding trough,” he said. “This is going to send shockwaves throughout the legal industry.”
The money came from the Government’s coal-health compensation scheme, set up nine years ago to compensate thousands of miners suffering from vibration white finger and chronic lung disease caused by coal dust.
Road to disgrace
June 2005 The Times publishes first story showing close financial relationship between individuals at the UDM and solicitors’ firms, including Beresfords, handling union’s coal health claims. Police start criminal inquiry
July Law Society says 30 law firms are under investigation. Government orders independent inquiry into its running of scheme. Serious Fraud Office (SFO) takes charge of criminal investigation
November SFO orders raids on UDM headquarters and homes of its two senior officials. Home of union employee has already been raided
December Independent inquiry criticises law firms that deducted money from clients’ damages and urges repayment
April 2006 Law Society says 45 solicitors from 10 firms will appear at disciplinary tribunal
April 2007 National Audit Office identifies “significant weaknesses” in the Government’s handling of the coal health scheme
June 2008 The Times reports Jim Beresford’s personal profit from his firm’s earnings over past five years is £30.2 million
December Mr Beresford and his partner, Doug Smith, are struck off for dishonesty and conduct unbecoming a solicitor.

P.S. Are any of the soccer superstars earning £37,000 per day?
Is this proof that a Solicitors Regulatory Authority as now in England, should replace 'The Old Boys Clubs', i.e. the Law Society of Northern Ireland and the Law Society of Ireland?  J.F

Donegal News, Monday December 29 2008, page 2

Donegal Senators paid almost E150,000 in expenses

Donegal’s three Senators claimed almost E150,000 between them in the first eleven months of this year, it has been revealed.

On top of their generous salaries of over  E70,000, Senators Brian O’Domhnaill, Cecilia Keaveney and Pearse Doherty claimed a total of E146,064 in tax-free expenses and allowances between January 1 and December 1 this year.

Sen O’Domhnaill was one of the highest claimants in the Senate, pocketing E55,833. Sen Doherty received E46,359 followed by Innishowen’s Senator Cecilia Keaveney who took home E43,872.

None of the three Senators were elected by members of the public. Senators O’Domhnaill and Keaveney were appointed by then An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern while Sen Doherty was elected by other public representatives around the country.

The latest revelation comes just one week after figures obtained by the Sunday Independent under Freedom of Information Act revealed Donegal’s six TD’s received more than E300,000 in expenses.

As unemployment is set to return to double digits for the first time in over a decade, the figures reveal the disparity between how the recession is affecting workers and their families throughout the country and our public representatives.

The wide-ranging headings under which members of the Seanad can claim cash back vividly illustrate how generous the system of largely tax-free expenses and allowances is.

The 60 members of the Seanad shared the E3m pot of money for travelling expenses, overnight travel, foreign travel, phone bills and secretarial costs.

Every member of the Seanad received between E3,769 and E8,367, in what was described as a Senator’s Miscellaneous allowance.

Given the high levels of claims there have been calls for the capping of expenses. A number of Independents in both houses said the issue must now be explored given the perilous state of the economy.

Photograph with caption: Joe McHugh, TD and his wife Olwyn Enright, TD. Joe was voted best dressed man in the Dail.

P.S. This article reminds me of a quote by Rodney Bickerstaff, the leader of the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) in England some years ago. Rodney Bickerstaff stated: “I am always astonished that the ‘RICH’ always seem to need lots of financial rewards and incentives to work harder and the ‘POOR’ always need to be subjected to ‘THREATS’ and ‘LESS FINANCIAL REWARDS’ to work harder.”

For a lighter moment: A taxi driver in Longford Town (who was using a video camera to film the VLPS demonstration led by John Gill on Wednesday 7th January 2008) asked Daniel Gallagher a question that Daniel failed to answer.

The question: “How Do You Know It Is A Really Cold, Cold Day???

Answer: This is the only day you will find a solicitor with his hands in his own pockets; every other day, he has his hands in somebody else’s pockets.

Protect your family`s inheritance and long term well being from lawyers.
Web Site created by Richard Lesz.
http://www.lawyersorgraverobbers.com/index.html
Become aware of the problems a lawyer acting as an executor may create for your family.
LAWYERS OR GRAVE ROBBERS?
Introduction.
The grizzly truth
HOME
Introduction. The grizzly truth
The lawyer robs the grave
The impotent regulators
There is an imaginary place in our minds where goblins live deep in the bowels of the earth and guard pots of gold. In these dark and gloomy places they work their evil. Whilst the dead spirits of our ancestors look on in helpless horror, powerlessly entombed by death. The pots of gold have been robbed by this heartless gang of barbarians and nobody can ever relieve them of their ill gotten treasure. They have built their fortress over the past thousand years and those that attempt to enter it will only find that they, like the dead, will be forced to contribute to the contraband.
When one enters the world of inheritance, and the legal profession become involved, it soon becomes apparent that this place is as real as the rain that falls from the sky, the sun that gives us life and the wind that brings us fresh air every day.
The goblins become the lawyers. The pots of gold are their fees and the fortress one finds has been built up by an elite group of unaccountable, untouchable humans, who justify their existence though the rule of privilege. They are what we term the judiciary (the keepers of the law).
Unlike most other professions the legal fraternity when acting as paid professional executors remain largely unaccountable and can only be judged by their peers. A consumer of their services is not provided with any quality standards or guidelines as to how lawyer/executors behave. If one has concerns about inefficient and costly procedures, they are impossible to pin down. They are a law unto themselves. In jurisdictions of criminal, business and financial disputes, it is possible to argue that there is a need for adversarialism. In the event of a parent's death and the passing on of the centuries of accumulated family wealth to the distressed and grieving relative's different skills are essential. Skills of conciliation, negotiation, mediation and selflessness upon which the beneficiaries of deceased estates can rely.
Currently the legal fraternity do not require specialised training in order to become professional, paid executors of their client's deceased estates. There are no standards on how they should treat the beneficiaries of the estate. The beneficiaries, unless they hold executorship are not considered by the law to be worthy as the lawyer/executor's clients. They have no recourse in regards to the procedures used by the lawyer/executor in the management of the estate. There is no disciplinary body available to evaluate whether or not the lawyer/executor is behaving in a combatative manner in order to benefit himself by racking up fees and charges on the estate. There are no formal venues available in which to mediate these types of concerns by the beneficiaries, apart from an application to the Supreme Court. This type of application is extremely expensive and substantially reduces the values of deceased estates as a result of the obscene legal fees.
The lawyer/executor is most likely the constructor of the will. A will becomes a contract between the deceased and the living. The executor takes on the role of the person who has died. A lawyer/executor who has written this contract with the input of the testator is not obliged to show the beneficiaries or a deceased estate the mechanisms of the will's construct even when a dispute arises between all of the beneficiaries and the lawyer/executor. The lawyer/executor is not accountable for their professional input into the construct of the contract. If an engineer constructed a bridge and it fell down he would be obliged to show in detail the mechanisms by which the bridge was constructed.
Under the current laws in Victoria a lawyer/executor is protected from being accountable for his workmanship by client/lawyer confidentiality. This assists some members of the legal profession to provide a poor quality of service to the community. A legal service which is not required to provide historical information as to the mechanisms used to create a will, is unable to be subjected to critical analysis. Critical analysis is the process by which the provision of quality is continually improved. In other words we learn by our mistakes, admit to them and put in standards to help us avoid making the same error again.
In the case of my own story the lawyer/executor refused to provide critical information. Information required to enable a proper analysis of my mothers will. Without this information it is impossible to assess the risks of a positive outcome in litigation against the lawyer.
This is a story about a highly combatative lawyer, who is the senior partner in a medium sized legal firm and the mechanisms that were used whilst dealing with a deceased estate. These mechanisms have wreaked havoc upon a grieving family. It is a story about how despite complaints being made about the lawyer's self interest, the bodies that have been created to protect normal every-day families, are powerless to do so. It is a story that identifies the need to change the jurisdiction of our ascendancy laws and to place them into the family law area where mediation, conciliation and negotiation are the foundation stones for positive resolution.
I write this book as a warning to all those people who at one time in their lives contemplate the writing of their will. I offer the following advice. Do not under any circumstances in your will appoint a lawyer as the executor to your estate. If you do not have an option, give all of your possessions away prior to your death, but do not appoint a lawyer as executor, especially the lawyer who wrote the will. At least you will know you have made someone better off and they will be grateful of your generosity. The lawyer can squander the lot on exorbitant fees and leave your family shattered. There are no quality standards for lawyer/executors, they are a law unto themselves and controlled by an oligarchy of families that have emerged over the past two hundred years in our fair country; Australia.



In Victoria they are accountable to the Law Institute of Victoria, the Bar Association and the Ethics Committee. In other words, themselves. In a world where greed is good and our laws have their roots embedded in the tyranny of Feudal England, (which protect the legal profession and those members of our society who are privileged), the beneficiaries of a deceased estate are disempowered.
Over 150 years ago Charles Dickens who had worked in a law firm identified the primary purpose of English Law.
The one great principal of the English law is to make business for itself [i.e. lawyers]. There is no other principle distinctly, certainly and consistently maintained through all its narrow turnings. Viewed by this light it becomes a coherent scheme, and not a monstrous maze the laity are apt to think it. Let them but once clearly perceive that its grand principle is to make business for itself at their expense, and surely they will cease to grumble.
One hundred and fifty years later, the legal profession resists the needs of the community and has avoided incorporating standards and the principals of quality management systems into their profession. This neglect by the legal profession permits them to remain unaccountable and allows them to charge their clients at will. If they make an error, they are not required to pay compensation or even required to put in systems to prevent duplication of the error in the future.
If you are a human being do not trust them, do not allow a lawyer to have control of your family's assets after your death; by doing so you are inviting the devil into your own home. Look after your children in death as you would in life and do not trust a lawyer with your children's well being.
Anybody making a will and contemplating the involvement of the legal profession should be made aware of the profession`s historical motives. When you appoint a lawyer as an executor of your estate you are giving them control of your money when you die. Why would you give a person whose profession is based upon making money for themselves, control of your money? Particularly when that person's profession has refused to acknowledge the need to be accountable through quality standards and the free exchange of information.
Evan Whitton in "Serial Liars," explains what can happen in the following story. It would be wise to take this warning from history very seriously if you are contemplating the involvement of the legal profession in your estate.
The record spin-out, Jennens v Jennens, began in the anciently corrupt Chancery Court in 1798, four years after the water lawyer (Shark) was caught near Workington. Jennens concerned the estate of a loan shark names William Jennens, whose grandfather had married twice and called boys from each marriage Robert. William Jennens plied his trade in London's gambling dens. He was the richest commoner in England, worth five million pounds, about five hundred million pounds today. Jennens, 98 unmarried went to a solicitor to make a will, but forgot to take his spectacles, and the solicitor`s spectacles did not fit. He died a few days later, on Tuesday, June 19, 1798, the unsigned will still in his pocket, and twenty thousand pounds (about $A6 million today) in cash in the house. Lawyers for the alleged relatives flooded into the Chancery Court.
Jennens v Jennens was still going when Dickens was born in 1812, when he worked as a law clerk at Ellis & Blackmore in 1827-28, when he used it as a model for Jarndyce v Jarndyce in Bleak House in 1852-53, and when he died in 1870. It ended in 1915, 117 years after it began, but only because generations of water lawyers (sharks) had 'devoured' the entire estate. Jennens had thus been on foot for 55 years when Dickens observed that the law exists to make business for lawyers.
If you are still considering appointing a lawyer as executor to your estate it is important to understand that our legal system is based upon an adversarial approach to finding the truth. Lawyers working within this system develop a legal personality that nurtures the art of serial lying.
"Lawyers might be accurately described as serial liars because they repeatedly try to induce others to believe in the truth of propositions, or in the validity of arguments, that they believe to be false."
Authur Applbaum, Professor of Ethics, Harvard, 1995
Be warned, you could be appointing a person who is unaccountable, has never worked with quality standards, whose only interest is to make money for themselves who is trained in the art of serial lying. I say. "God help the beneficiaries." When one analyses the origins of our English legal system, and understands the implications for consumers of its services, only the naive would contemplate appointing a lawyer as an executor to care for one`s estate.
The adversarial system originated with the Norman conquest of England (1066). England was an island inhabited by small communities. They banded together under Harold and were defeated at the battle of Hastings. As with any conquering army of barbarians, they took what they could get. Conquest through the act of war legitemises, slavery, rape, murder, and theft. The act of conquest extinguishes community law (law that is generated from the community) and imposes the law of the conqueror (law that is generated by the conqueror and rules over the community).
The 300 'magnates', or 'great men of the realm' were part time judges and full time organised criminals: they franchised land to freemen and extorted goods and services from them; they extorted from merchants travelling through their land; and they 'sometimes led or employed bands of brigands to plunder towns and villages'. Freemen in turn franchised their land to its original owners and extorted from them.
As the society evolved through the middle ages, "the lords extorted goods and services from peasants in return for protection against other plundering lords and vagabonds" .
Common law began in the reign of Henry 11 (1154-89). It was based upon a culture of systemic corruption that had evolved when William 11 institutionalised trickle down extortion in the trade of authority. William put every public office up for sale. The purchaser then extorted bribes from those that had to deal with that office.
The British Empire perpetuated a system based on the trade of land and human beings. The empire dates from 1072 with the incorporation of Scotland, spread to Wales 1079, Ireland 1172 and Virginia 1607. It then developed a triangular trade in goods and humans between Africa, America and England. It continued its global expansion into India, South East Asia and Southern China, involving itself in the trade of opium and the utilisation of gun boat diplomacy.
Hence if you are still contemplating the appointment of a lawyer as executor to your estate, remember you are bringing a person into your family affairs, who is a member of a profession, whose historical roots do not respect the rights of communities to evolve and create their own laws. They do not acknowledge the primary human tenent of civilisation,which is the existence and evolution of healthy family structures. They are more likely to be influenced by the primary principle of making money for themselves.
If we were in our home country we would have access to guidance from other family members, with whom we have shared our lives and to whom we know we can trust. In a foreign land we are extremely vulnerable. Please heed my warnings, read my tale of woe and if you have the stomach to do as I have done, work to change the laws of this land, so as this grizzly business, is removed from the hands of the legal profession _a profession trained in the art of making trouble in order to make money for themselves, who circle like sharks to feed upon the assets of the dead whilst robbing the living.
Hence the question; "Lawyers or Grave Robbers?"
Our legal system is built upon an ancient system that permits the privileged to rule over the people. The roots of adversarialism were founded by William the Conqueror at the battle of Hastings in 1066. The conqueror and his progeny then installed his law over the communities of England, Scotland, Wales and eventually Ireland. These laws do not incorporate the laws of the original communities. They cannot because they do not acknowledge the original act of invasion of the community. They legitimise the act of war and the mechanisms used to achieve the conquest, that is the enslavement of men, the murder of children, the raping of women and the plunder of the community's graves. The community wealth being kept in the graves because it was believed to be a safe place, protected by the dead. The conqueror's law ignores these community laws and labels them contemptuously as superstitious. In doing so it puts its laws over and above those of cohesive family unity and wellbeing.
The lawyer robs the grave
I engaged a lawyer to communicate with the lawyer/executor on my behalf in the naive hope that common sense would prevail. Unfortunately I found myself faced with a combatative individual who had no compassion for my own family or the family of my late mother. It soon became apparent that his sole objective was to play out an adversarial role which did not take into consideration the imperative for preserving long term relationships between members of my mother's family and would force me into expensive litigation, the outcome being increased legal fees against the estate. This action would have left no alternative but to pursue the matter in the Supreme Court at a cost of $200,000 to the estate. The result would have significantly reduced the share my brother and my two sisters would have received from the estate. It would have also reduced the share available to my own children. As a responsible family member and father to my children I was eventually forced to abandon the legal process as I discovered it does not cater for beneficiaries of moderate estates in Australia. I discovered that lawyer/executors are not accountable and there are no quality standards in place to assure their accountability to the beneficiaries of a deceased estate.
I discovered that the law as it stands regarding deceased estates permits the lawyer executor to hide critical information from the beneficiaries. Information such as the notes relating to the construct of a will or for that matter any correspondence the lawyer/executor may have in his possession sent to him by the deceased in relation to their wishes. This is despite the fact that it is a criminal offence to hide or destroy a person's will. I discovered that even when all the beneficiaries join together to request an outcome that would be beneficial to the long term wellbeing of the family unit (both financial and from the perspective of maintaining long term family relations), the law allows the lawyer/executor to maintain an adversarial role, a role that can destroy a family and can only benefit the legal profession as has occurred to my mother's family.
I was under the naive impression that when one appointed an executor to one`s estate one was appointing a representative who was a trusted friend, not a fiend. I always thought an executor would take on the role of a friendly aunt or uncle and would make decisions taking into consideration the long term wellbeing of the deceased's family and would make decisions based on the long term wellbeing of this family.
I did not expect to encounter a person who used highly combatative tactics whilst managing my mother's estate: tactics that I have not ever encountered, and would be considered inappropriate in the highly competitive world of local and international business, with which I am familiar. These tactics include, delaying, hiding crucial information, spreading misinformation, using information that is out of date or is actually misinformation to further their own point of view. If a person were to use these methods in business, commercial relationships between parties would become non-existent and the ability to develop trusting partnerships would not exist.
From my own experience in doing business with one of the most competitive and quality-conscious cultures in the world, that is with the Japanese, I have found that sharing information, speaking the truth and responding immediately are the keys to creating long term healthy relationships. I have found that these components are the fundamentals for the development of trust between parties and individuals and form the basis for long term, progressive outcomes. They are the basis for developing quality standards between commercial entities which enables our modern globalised society to function.
I am disgusted by the behaviour of the lawyer/executor of my mother's estate and have serious concerns: concerns that go beyond the handling of her affairs. The individual concerned is a senior partner in a legal firm that writes standards for the age care industry and sells these standards to government. These standards advocate a system of continued quality improvement.
From my own experience in business I realise that the key to successful continual quality improvement revolves around:
1.    the free exchange of information in order that decisions can be made with access to all of the information by all people who are involved.
2.    access to information without delay.
3.    making truthful statements based on verified facts.
4.    the participation of all parties in the decision making process.
5.    the utilisation of negotiation through mediation and alternative dispute resolution techniques.
I find it difficult to see how a firm that allows its senior partner to behave in an adversarial manner when dealing with a bereaved family and has no written quality standards to prevent such behaviour, would have the insight to be able to write standards for the care and wellbeing of our ageing population.
The following are a series of letters written between my lawyer referred to as Ping and the lawyer/executor referred to as Pong. Hence the sad game of Ping Pong $$$$; a game that is played to benefit the legal profession not the beneficiaries of deceased estates.
Web Site created by Richard Lesz.    Last modified 25-05-08

The impotent regulators
I developed a different strategy and began utilising the complaint mechanisms that are available to consumers of legal services within the state of Victoria. I thought that this strategy would resolve the issues pertaining to my mother's estate and the problems created by the lawyer/executor for my late mother's family. I saw this as a mechanism that would not incur further legal costs as lawyer/executors are not allowed to charge for their time in responding to issues raised with the bodies responsible for handling such matters. Being a beneficiary and not the executor has meant that my complaints regarding the actions of the lawyer concerned were very limited by law, as a beneficiary to a deceased estate is not considered a client of the executor.
Hence the saga continues.
I initially wrote to the legal ombudsman to raise a complaint against the lawyer/executor in regard to the methods used in his handling of my request for my mother's medical records. Complaints against lawyer/executors are limited to the executor. Beneficiaries of an estate are not considered clients of the lawyer. The executor is not seen to be acting as a lawyer and is not under the auspices of the Victorian Law Institute. The fact that he is a lawyer is considered irrelevant by the Law Institute.
The legal profession defends its autonomy and has resisted calls for outside input. My case is just an example of why the legal profession needs outside regulation and cannot be allowed to remain self-regulating. This would allow beneficiaries (relatives) of deceased estates to have a fair go when entangled by the legal system.

About the Author
Diarmuid Hannigan born in Africa, Diarmuid shares in the dream of all who have come to this country - of a fair society that gives a fair go. Imagine his horror when everyday family matters turn into a nightmare of Privilege - yes, with a capital P. It could happen to you..
PS. I ‘cut & pasted’ these extracts, the author makes some very important points. Why are we in Ireland still ‘Unfree & Oppressed’ when it comes to speaking out about injustice by solicitors, barristers and judges? J.F.

Corrupt lawyer cheated hospitals A solicitor defrauded the health service of more than £270,000 over eight years, the Audit Office has said. Most of the late George Brangam's fraud involved medical negligence cases, the government watchdog found. He would invoice health bodies for more money than the case had actually been settled for, then keep the extra cash, ranging from £1,250 up to £75,000. Auditors found the fraud could have been detected earlier if existing financial controls had been used. A senior partner in legal firm Brangam, Bagnall and Co, George Brangam died last August. It has emerged he had earlier received an award for excellence from the Law Society of Northern Ireland. (Excellent by their usual standards UJ)    BBC    04 Jul 2008
Lawyer hid camera in ladies' loo A solicitor has admitted hiding a video camera inside a ladies' toilet cubicle and secretly filming female staff. Stirling Sheriff Court heard that Peter Fitzpatrick, 49, put the device into a cardboard box within the cubicle at law firm Muirhead Buchanan in Stirling. The father-of-two, who has been a solicitor for 27 years, was caught after a secretary noticed a hole in the box was pointing at the pedestal. Fitzpatrick, of Rutherglen, is due to be sentenced next month.    BBC    09 Jun 2008
Crooked solicitor spent client money on 'a Rolex, loose women and drink'Three crooked members of a family law firm who lived a life of luxury on £840,000 of clients' cash have been thrown out of the profession. Imran, Saira and Shamim Karim were described as "dangerous to the profession and the public" after they kept money from property deals. Senior partner Imran Karim, 40, boasted five cars including a Ferrari 335 Belinetta and a north London flat, all paid for by clients of Karim and Co.    Croydon Guardian    09 Jun 2008
Convicted pedophile JP jailedA magistrate from Croydon known as "The Zoo Man" who trawled the internet for images of children being sexually abused was today jailed for nine months. Zoologist Terry Mills, 58, spent his days visiting primary schools showing children exotic reptiles and his evenings building up a library of child pornography. He watched a film entitled "German Blondie" and received emails marked "British Boys" and "Busy at Both Ends", Southwark Crown Court heard.    Croydon Guardian    09 Jun 2008
Seven years for money launderer A PROPERTY magnate from Canons Park who laundered at least £13.8m with an Ealing lawyer has been jailed for seven years. John Donnan, 52, of Watersfield Way, ran a series of bogus companies with his solicitor, Gerard Hyde, 55, of Priory Gardens, allowing friends to operate a 16-month VAT fraud. The firms imported mobile phones tax free but sold them on with an extra 17.5 per cent profit, which was then shared with Donnan and Hyde.    Harrow Times    24 May 2008
Struck off after spending thousands on strippers A LAWYER from Highgate has been kicked out of the profession after he blew more than £200,000 of his firm's cash on strippers. Divorced father of three Paul Saffron, 43, from Stanhope Road, raided the accounts of top law firm Radcliffes Le Brasseur over more than three years. He spent most of the cash on lap dancers in clubs across London. Colleagues at the 150-year-old law firm called in the police when they discovered a £104,000 hole in the accounts. Saffron insisted he was clinically depressed and had only spent the money quickly so he would have no alternative but to kill himself out of shame when he was discovered. But last Thursday, the Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal ignored his pleas to be allowed to stay in the profession.    Hampstead & Highgate Expr    15 May 2008
Burnley fraud lawyer ‘has lost everything’ A SOLICITOR who forged another lawyer's signature on a legal document has been thrown out of the profession. Philip Lowe, 42, formerly of Low Bank, Burnley, signed papers so the estate of a client could be handled quickly, the Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal heard. When inspectors raided his firm they found he had been using client's money for his own benefit by keeping the cash in his own bank account. Lowe, who, the hearing was told, now sold paint for a living, tried to stage a cover up by wrongly billing clients to balance his books. He has now lost his family, his firm and his home because of his dishonesty, the hearing was told. Lowe who ran his own firm in Main Street, Cross Hills, Keig-hley, was cleared of fraud at a Bradford Crown Court trial but admitted using a false ins-trument and was fined £515. Ian Ryan, for the Law Society, told the hearing investigators found a £35,332 black hole' in Lowe''s books when they raided the firm on July 4 2005. Money which should have been paid into the client account had been deposited in the firm's account which were controlled solely by Lowe.    Burnley Citizen    01 May 2008
Hetherington: Fox Hayes, Abbey, Square MileMrs K.C. writes: I read in Financial Mail some time ago the result of the Financial Services & Markets Tribunal hearing about solicitor Fox Hayes, but there has been no further news. I foolishly invested practically all my money, about £60,000, in shares sold by brokers represented by Fox Hayes. I have recovered only £5,000. This has gone on for so long, I'm now almost giving up. I will be 93 in June."Leeds solicitor Fox Hayes, which is licensed as an investment adviser by the Financial Services Authority, stupidly and corruptly teamed up with a network of crooked boiler room share peddlers. Throughout 2003 and 2004, Financial Mail repeatedly warned that the firm was fronting for known tricksters posing as stockbrokers based in Spain. Privately, I gave full details to Fox Hayes, proving that it was lending its name to mailshots from firms run by people who would never in a million years get a licence from the FSA, who did not have a licence from Spain's financial watchdog, and who were selling shares so rotten that I'm surprised anyone gave you as much as £5,000 for them..."It cannot be right that a firm or an individual can commit an offence, pay a fine that is less than victims have actually lost and then carry on as if nothing has happened."    This is Money    13 Apr
Lawyer who killed his wife is released after just two years - and inherits £950,000 from her estate A wealthy lawyer who killed his wife after she had an affair is set to inherit nearly £1million from her will after being freed from jail. Christopher Lumsden, 54, was said to have "snapped" after his wife Alison, 53, announced she was leaving him for a family friend. He attacked her at their £1.4million mansion, slashing her on the face and neck with a knife so badly a pathologist could not count the number of wounds she had suffered.    This is London    08 Apr 2008
Solicitor guilty of fraud jailed A solicitor who stole more than £1m from a disabled client has been jailed for 10 years at Machester Crown Court. Thomas McGoldrick, 59, of Faulkners Lane, Mobberley, Cheshire, lived a life of "extravagance" while taking the money from client Keith Anderson. Mr Anderson, 45, from Croydon, had been awarded £1.8m after he was severely injured in a road crash. Belfast-born McGoldrick was convicted of 59 counts of fraud in February and was sentenced on Monday. He was £1.4m in debt when his firm, who had practices called McGoldricks in Altrincham, Greater Manchester and Croydon, took on Mr Anderson's case.    BBC    08 Apr 2008
Fiddling solicitor struck off A SOLICITOR who took money from the dead for work he had not carried out has been thrown out of the profession. Christopher Dudzinski, 49, of Dudzinski and Partners, Butts Court, Leeds, claimed thousands of pounds from the estates of late clients and ploughed the cash into his firm. Investigators found he also told customers he was investing their money when in fact it was being kept in the firm's accounts. Financial records were not properly written up and an investigation in 2006 revealed a £25,975 'black hole' in the client accounts. Dudzinski accepted he withdrew clients' money before he billed them for his work, the Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal in London heard. "A large part of the shortfall, £21,230, was in respect of costs transferred from client to office account in circumstances where bills had not been delivered to the client," said Jonathan Goodwin, for the Solicitors' Disciplinary Authority. Dudzinski was acting for the executors of a will when he took £2,350 from the estate of a dead man after his affairs had been completed. When questioned, the lawyer said he thought he deserved more for the work done previously.    Yorkshire Evening Post    01 Apr 2008
Seven years jail for lawyer who siphoned £900,000 from wills to feather his nest A crooked lawyer has been jailed for seven years after he looted £900,000 from wills and cash meant for charity so he could send his children to public school, stock up with vintage wines and drive a classic sports car. In the course of 28 years, Michael Wright, now 66, doubled or trebled his actual salary. He set up seven false identities to channel the money from wills and had the power to sign cheques paying legacies to their bank accounts. When families complained or became suspicious he simply stole from other estates to pay them what they were owed, Exeter Crown Court was told. The lawyer, officially on £29,000 a year, was caught when his employers, solicitors Harold Mitchelmore of Newton Abbot, Devon, introduced a new audit system.    Daily Mail    20 Mar 2008
Couple stripped of £5million A Weybridge solicitor and his wife have been stripped of £5.3million of criminal assets hidden overseas. The Assets Recovery Agency was granted a High Court order to take the money from John and Susan Ann Szepietowski of Ashford House, Four Winds Park, St George's Hill, following an investigation prompted by a separate drugs trafficking and money laundering probe by Surrey Police. The ARA alleged the Szepietowskis had amassed a large property portfolio through fraudulent mortgage claims and the laundering of rental income through offshore accounts. It also alleged that the Szepietowskis benefited from a phoenix fraud scam, involving the publishing of adult magazines, and that their lavish lifestyle greatly exceeded their known legitimate income. Solicitor Mr Szepietowski and his former building society manager wife entered negotiations with the ARA in October last year.    Wimbledon Guardian    17 Mar 2008
Crooked veteran solicitor struck off A CROOKED solicitor took almost £100,000 from bereaved clients and used the cash to pay her tax bill, a hearing was told. University of Huddersfield law lecturer Lorraine Miers, 49, blamed her cheating husband for financial difficulties when he had an affair with her student, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal heard. Yesterday she was struck off and ordered to pay costs of £10,000.    Yorkshire Evening Post    14 Mar 2008
McGoldrick investigated beforeA LAWYER who stole more than £1m from a disabled man to feed his champagne lifestyle was investigated for financial irregularities more than ten years ago, the M.E.N. reveal. `Bent' solicitor Thomas McGoldrick, 59, was described by police as `shameless, selfish, greedy and calculating' after being found guilty of false accounting, money laundering, forgery and obtaining pecuniary advantage by deception. He stole the money from Keith Anderson who had been awarded £1.8 million damages as a result of a road accident which left him paralysed from the chest down. And McGoldrick, who lives in a luxury home in Mobberley, Cheshire, was only caught when Mr Anderson had £200 left and the Law Society called in the police to investigate...In 1997 he was criticised by the Law Society after more than £40,000 went missing from a client's account.This was followed by a series of other misdemeanours relating to his accounts and the financial management of his firm, but despite serious concerns, the Law Society allowed him to continue practising as a lawyer until 2004. (The Law Society is no more than a corrupt gangsters' union.UJ)    Manchester Evening News    23 Feb 2008
Solicitor guilty of £1.2m fraud A solicitor who conned more than £1m from a disabled client has been found guilty of fraud.Thomas McGoldrick, 59, of Faulkners Lane, Mobberley, Cheshire, had denied the charges at Manchester Crown Court. The court heard he lived a life of "extravagance" while taking the money from client Keith Anderson. Mr Anderson, 45, of Croydon, had been awarded £1.8m following a crash which left him paralysed but McGoldrick claimed he had "gifted" him the money. Mr Anderson was paid damages after the accident in Croydon in November 1996, which left him paralysed from the chest down. The solicitor, who had practices called McGoldricks in Altrincham, Greater Manchester and Croydon, went on to take about £1.2m of the cash.    BBC    22 Feb 2008
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 2007
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 2007
High-life solicitor, Thomas Byrne, goes on the run as mortgage ‘scam’ comes to light They were the epitome of the Celtic Tiger economic boom, enjoying to the full their good fortune and wealth with money lavished on expensive cars, exclusive homes and fine dining. Now one is on the run and the other has had his assets frozen as the banks and courts go after two high-profile solicitors with debts of more than £50 million. Ireland has never seen a legal scandal like it, with one newspaper describing the fate of Michael Lynn and Thomas Byrne as “a cautionary tale about the inevitable consequences of the greed, arrogance and recklessness that fuelled the Celtic Tiger”.    Times Online    27 Oct 2007
CROOKED LAWYER SPARED JAIL TO CARE FOR SON A Solicitor who falsely claimed more than £4,000 in overtime and asked clients to write cheques out to his personal account has been spared jail. Judge David Price told David York that his actions were a breach of trust, but did not jail him because he helps to care for his autistic son. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years. York worked at Pyms Solicitors in Bridge Street, Belper, on civil court cases.    Derbyshire Evening Telegraph    16 Oct 2007
False claim solicitor disciplined A solicitor has been found guilty of professional misconduct for making fake and inflated legal aid claims. Paul Kirk, 48, from Uddingston, South Lanarkshire, made thousands of pounds by double-charging and claiming false expenses. The Scottish Solicitors' Discipline Tribunal, who looked at the case, fined Kirk the maximum of £10,000. However, because he was no longer registered as a praticising solicitor it could take no further action. The disciplinary tribunal said it lacked the power to properly discipline the lawyer. It wants legislation which would create tougher penalties for rogue solicitors.    BBC    10 Oct 2007
Solicitor in Ledward abuse case struck off A solicitor who left clients owing thousands in costs after a group damages claim against former gynaecologist Dr Rodney Ledward collapsed was struck off today. Jane Loveday represented more than 50 women who claim they had been sexually assaulted by the consultant gynaecologist, who was barred from practicing medicine in 1998. A subsequent claim for damages brought against Dr Ledward’s former NHS trust, spearheaded by Mrs Loveday, was dropped in 2004 after legal aid was withdrawn, a solicitor’s disciplinary tribunal was told.    Times Online    10 Oct 2007
Tadley solicitor handed six-month jail term for scamming banks and building societies A TADLEY solicitor has been jailed for his part in a mortgage scam. Robert Stober, aged 68, of Silchester Road, Tadley, was handed a six-month jail term at Winchester Crown Court last Thursday, July 19. Also in the dock was businessman Douglas Caffell, aged 42, of Long Lane, Shaw, who received a suspended sentence. In February this year, ringleader Phillip Carter, aged 41, of The Green, Silchester, admitted four counts of false accounting, five counts of conspiracy to defraud and three counts of obtaining money transfer by deception. The court heard Carter had tried to re-mortgage property without declaring his exisiting mortgages and loans. Several banks and building societies fell foul of his scam.    Newbury Today    27 Jul 2007
SOLICITOR IS JAILED FOR CHEQUE FRAUD A Plymouth-based solicitor has been jailed for two years for fiddling cheques and expenses totalling £19,000. Priya Prashar, aged 29, of Trobridges, doctored cheques to make them payable to her own bank account while working for another firm in London. She denied the charges but was found guilty after a trial of false accounting, theft and perverting the course of justice. Prashar, who gave her address as Harrow in West London, moved to the Mutley-based firm two years ago after the offences were committed in 2003 and 2004. But Trobridges partner Tim Waine said that the firm only became aware of the allegations about nine months ago.    The Herald Plymouth    18 Jul 2007
TV 'sting' solicitor struck off A solicitor filmed in a TV "sting" giving advice to an undercover journalist on how to stop witnesses testifying has been struck off. David Lancaster, 57, from Havant, Hampshire, was taken off the solicitors' roll at a Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal on Thursday. Lancaster was jailed for three years in October for inciting the reporter to pervert the course of justice.    BBC    06 Jul 2007
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. (Updated news item 31 October 2007. UJ)    Times Online    06 Jun 2007
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.(Updated news item 31 October 2007. UJ)    This is Money    04 Jun 2007
Solicitor's life in tatters after she admits stealing £1,300 from law firm A YOUNG solicitor yesterday admitted stealing cash from her employer. Zosia Fraser, 29, was considered a promising lawyer with excellent prospects until her dishonesty came to light. She was subsequently sacked from her position with a Scottish law firm amid claims she was caught charging clients upfront cash payments that she then pocketed for herself.    The Scotsman    12 May 2007
FSA bankrupts boiler room scam lawyer Solicitor Adrian Sam has been made bankrupt by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) after his law firm Adrian Sam & Co (ASC) assisted an illegal overseas boiler room scam. The FSA took the action after ASC and the firm's former partner John Martin failed to comply with a Court of Appeal ruling in 2005 that ordered the law firm to pay £360,000 to 63 investors to whom it helped peddle cut-price shares as part of the scam. Jonathan Phelan, the FSA's head of retail enforcement, said: "This case is a warning to others who act as a UK front for boiler rooms that the FSA will use its full powers against them where possible to recover losses for the victims of their illegal activities."    The Lawyer    29 Mar 2007
Shamed cash solicitor struck off A FORMER Ipswich solicitor who siphoned off nearly £27,400 of a client's money, is in disgrace today after being struck off. The Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal found Keith Croft improperly transferred the funds into his firm's account after telling a colleague he might keep the money left over from a French holiday home purchase. Croft, a solicitor since 1983 and sole principal of Riddell Croft and Co in St Helen's Street, was alleged to have breached the Solicitors Accounts Rules 1998, although he did not attend the tribunal.    Evening Star    22 Feb 2007
Lawyer banned from legal aid work A law firm which earned more than £400,000 in legal aid last year has been barred from further work in the field, officials have said. The move follows an investigation into the firm, Robert Taylor Solicitors of Bath Street in Glasgow. The Scottish Legal Aid Board said it had removed the firm from its register of criminal legal aid lawyers. "The firm and solicitor cannot provide criminal legal aid or criminal advice and assistance," said the board. Last year the firm's legal aid earnings totalled £409,300. In November last year, the Daily Record reported heroin users were paid in £5 notes to sign legal aid documents.    BBC    07 Feb 2007
Solicitor admits theft A FORMER solicitor who lost £250,000 through his business and a property deal admitted theft and criminal damage when he appeared at Worcester Crown Court. Andrew Dutton, aged 61, of Longmead Chambers, Birtsmorton, was said to be penniless and eking out his £100-a-week benefit by offering legal advice on a website. Giving him a two-year conditional discharge, Judge John Cavell told him: "It's tragic to see a man of your professional background standing in the dock at crown court over what is a civil dispute. You behaved extremely stupidly."    Malvern Gazette    26 Jan 2007
Lawyer 'planned sex with child' A solicitor has been ordered to do 180 hours community service after asking a prostitute to arrange sex for him with a mother and an underage girl. Glasgow Sheriff Court heard how Ian Donnelly had sneaked away from his office for the encounter, but the vice girl called police and he was arrested. Officers later found child pornography on Donnelly's home computer. Donnelly, 43, who had admitted a number of charges, was also put on the sex offenders' register for three years. The personal injury solicitor, who worked for Lloyd Green in the city's Cadogan Square, was also placed on probation for three years and ordered to take part in counselling. (Unlikely to be struck off, though. UJ)    BBC    25 Jan 2007
Solicitor jailed for £100k theft A solicitor has been jailed for stealing almost £100,000 from clients to compensate others he had failed. Jeremy Langworthy, 48, of Abergavenny, admitted taking money from accounts to make up "acceptable" compensation sums for other clients. Prosecutor Michael Mather-Lees told Merthyr Crown Court: "Langworthy was effectively robbing Peter to pay Paul." He was jailed for 18 months after admitting seven charges of theft totalling £99,400 and one of forgery.    BBC    16 Jan 2007
Solicitor who drew up his mother’s will to inherit her fortune defeated in court A Borehamwood solicitor drew up his mother's will without her knowledge or approval' in order to inherit part of her large estate, a High Court judge has ruled. Morley Franks, 63, a partner in Turner & Debenhams, in Shenley Road, had hoped to prove a will he drew up in 1994 was valid, but Mr Justice David Richards said the solicitor was not a witness on whose evidence I can rely' and not telling the truth'. Mr Franks has been practising in Borehamwood since 1978, first as a partner in Measures Franks & Co until 2004, then when it merged with Turner & Debenhams. He specialises in wills and probate laws. This week, his firm refused to comment on his position following the judgement, which took place at the High Court in December.    This is Hertfordshire    11 Jan 2007
Ex-lawyer goes bankrupt A former Shrewsbury lawyer who was struck off for pocketing a client’s cash has declared himself bankrupt. Stephen Morecroft was ordered to pay £22,885.42 in costs by a Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal in May. The hearing was told Mr Morecroft was given £10,897.06 by a client for a deposit on a new home to be bought off-plan. In November 2005 the Law Society intervened in his firm, Morecroft and Co, in Barker Street, Shrewsbury, and officials discovered the firm’s accounts held only £1,194. The tribunal struck off Morecroft after finding a string of allegations, which included accounts rule breaches and failing to act in the best interests of clients, proved against him.    Shropshire Star    09 Jan 2007
Solicitor struck off for lying to bossesA newly-qualified solicitor who admitted lying to cover up a basic legal blunder just weeks after becoming a lawyer has been struck off. Michael Hopkins, 43, misled his bosses at Inghams, based in Winckley Square, Preston, to avoid exposing his error in exchanging contracts too early on a property transaction for a client.    Lancashire Evening Post    19 Dec 2006
Carousel fraud four jailed Four men have been jailed for a total of 57 years for running an elaborate VAT fraud that cheated taxpayers out of £10 million. The scam, which centred on the trading activities of a Scottish company called Virgini Ltd, involved making false VAT claims for mobile phones that were supposedly being imported into the UK and exported to Ukraine. In fact, there was no evidence the phones ever existed. Director Durgesh Mehta, 51, was jailed for a total of 33 years after being convicted of cheating the public revenue, money laundering, and conspiracy to transfer criminal property under the Proceeds of Crime Act. His sentences will run concurrently. The wealthy solicitor lived in the stockbroker belt village of Chalfont St Peter, in Buckinghamshire, and commuted weekly to Scotland. His three accomplices - Gerald Reardon, 55, from Kent, Matthew Sharman, 43 from Essex, and Peter Ratcliff, 54, from Surrey - each received eight year prison sentences for laundering the proceeds through offshore companies.    Telegraph    28 Oct 2006
Solicitor raided couple's account of £100,000 A Golders Green solicitor has been 'struck off' after stealing more than £100,000 from clients. Winston Jesiah Held, 64, of Sinclair Grove, cleared the account of an unnamed couple he was advising about selling their house, an industrial tribunal heard. Held worked as a consultant at Jay Benning and Peltz and Talbot Creggy in Marylebone.    Hampstead & Highgate Times    24 Oct 2006
Dishonest lawyer struck off A crooked lawyer from Preston built up a property portfolio by taking more than £239,000 from clients, including First World War veterans, a tribunal heard. Ian Desmond, the 53-year-old former chief executive of the Lancashire law firm Marsdens, misappropriated the money to buy houses. The Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal struck off Desmond, of Mallowdale, Fulwood, after hearing details of "the most appalling dishonesty".    Preston Today    19 Oct 2006
Solicitor jailed after BBC reporter's sting A Havant solicitor targeted by a "TV sting" has been jailed for three years. David Lancaster, 56, from Harbourside, was convicted of inventing stories to get a man off a drugs supply offence - unaware that he was an investigative reporter telling him a cover tale. Lancaster was told by Judge Graham Cottle at Exeter Crown Court: "You broke every rule in the book in a breatttaking display of unprofessional conduct."..."The judge told Lancaster the British criminal justice system is held up as a model of fairness and good practice, and in order to maintain that reputation it is of paramount importance that professionals involved in the system behave at all times with honesty and integrity."    Press Gazette See also: Times Online And: BBC    18 Oct 2006
Solicitor jailed for helping gunman A solicitor was jailed for a year at the Old Bailey today for smuggling a letter out of Belmarsh jail to help a gunman accused of shooting a trial witness. Maya Devani, a former member of law firm Arani & Co, which defended the radical cleric Abu Hamza, was convicted earlier this year of attempting to pervert the course of justice. Her client, Timothy Merchant, was found guilty of two charges of attempted murder and perverting the course of justice and was jailed today for 18 years. Devani was told by Judge Paul Focke: "The authorities need to be able to trust and rely on the integrity of solicitors. You let them down."    Times Online    30 Sep 2006
27 months for lawyer who robbed 'friend' of £70,000 HE was once a successful and well- connected lawyer, a city councillor and a man tipped to be a future Westminster MP. But yesterday, the political aspirations of Iain Catto were ended forever when he was jailed for 27 months for stealing £70,000 from a disabled client, who depended upon him as a close friend. Catto took the money over two years from December 2002 to maintain his lifestyle of foreign travel and exclusive restaurants after losing his job as a solicitor. He now faces a hearing before the independent Scottish Solicitors' Discipline Tribunal, where he could be struck off.    The Scotsman    27 Sep 2006
Jailed ex-solicitor loses Citizens Advice Bureau job A THIEVING solicitor who was working as a Citizens Advice Bureau adviser while serving a five-year prison sentence has had his contract terminated. The CAB announcement was made the day after the Lancashire Telegraph revealed that convicted conman Philip Pressler, formerly of Higher Whittlestone Farm, Darwen, was being allowed to give advice to members of the public who knew nothing of his past.    Lancashire Telegraph    14 Sep 2006
Crooked solicitor's jail sentence A CORRUPT solicitor has been jailed for two years after a £300,000 scam was uncovered. Mark Kerruish, 40, massively over-billed clients, some of them dead, while he was the senior partner running Fielding and Co in Chorlton-cum-Hardy and Cheadle Hulme.    IC Cheshire    14 Sep 2006
Crook solicitor stole £70,000 from helpless disabled client A MAN once seen as a potential future Tory leader in the Lothians has admitted stealing £70,000 from a disabled man. Former Conservative councillor for Prestonfield and Mayfield, Iain Catto, 41, who is also a former solicitor, pretended to care for Francis Fleming after he became partially paralysed. Catto, an elected member from 1990 to 1994, had pretended to be a close friend of Mr Fleming, 59, and volunteered to pay his bills and organise his life. But he was regularly withdrawing sums up to £15,000 a time from his client's accounts to fund his own lavish lifestyle. He even sold some of his victim's shares.    The Scotsman    23 Aug 2006
Lawyer forged contract and then lied to tribunal Temporarily removed 29 Aug    Bournemouth Echo    14 Aug 2006
Budding lawyer’s £100k bank fraud Most budding legal eagles have a grasp of what they can possibly get away with within the bounds of the law. But when law student Andrew Curzon received a cheque for more than £100,000 that had been sent to his address by mistake, he did not bank on being caught trying to deposit the money in his own account. Curzon, 19, of Lingfield Road, Wimbledon, wrongly received a Bank of Scotland cheque for £117,533 in the post. It was made out to his elderly neighbour as a payment from a pension fund that had matured. But instead of returning it to its rightful owner, the teenager wrote his name over the pensioner's, went into the Wimbledon Village branch of NatWest and asked staff to put the sum in his bank account. (Start as you mean to carry on. UJ)    This is Hertfordshire    03 Aug 2006
Lawyer claimed he was solicitor A LAWYER who made a legal blunder faces being struck off unless he removes his own name from the profession's official register, a hearing has heard. Adrian Cole, 63, landed himself in trouble after his name appeared on official notepaper claiming he was a solicitor when he did not have a practicing certificate. An enquiry heard on Tuesday that Mr Cole had not held a valid licence to work as a solicitor since he was suspended for 12 months in 1999 for a number of serious legal errors. But Gerald Lynch, for the Law Society, said that Mr Cole had sent a fax in November 2003 to Eversheds in Cardiff on behalf of a former colleague on paper headed 'Adrian E Cole solicitor'.    East Anglian Daily Press    02 Aug 2006
Solicitors face tough drive over competence HUNDREDS of secret disciplinary hearings held each year against solicitors are expected to go public, in a drive to rid the profession of poor standards and dishonesty. At the same time, solicitors could face regular “MoT” tests in the shape of competence checks — to ensure, in the vogue words of the Home Secretary, that they are “fit for purpose”..."Last year, of 594 adjudications held after a complaint about a solicitor, the society made 222 decisions to reprimand or severely reprimand 139 solicitors. The more serious cases, where conditions are attached to a solicitor’s practising certificate, are already made public to people who inquire." (It just ain't gonna happen. UJ)    Times Online    01 Aug 2006
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."    Times Online    24 Jul 2006
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.    Dorset Echo    01 Jul 2006
Solicitor jailed for sale linkA Shrewsbury solicitor has been jailed for 15 months for money laundering after he carried out legal work on the purchase of a house from two drug dealers. Phillip John Griffiths, of Emstrey Lodge, was convicted of turning a blind eye to the purchase of a house in Birmingham by estate agent Leslie Dennis Pattison for £43,000 — a third of the property’s value. A jury at Warwick Crown Court yesterday convicted the 44-year-old solicitor of entering into or becoming involved in a money laundering arrangement. Correction 21 June 2006:Solicitor jailing"We have been asked to point out that Shrewsbury solicitor Phillip John Griffiths was cleared of entering into or becoming involved in a money laundering arrangement during a recent court case. The 44-year-old, of Emstrey Lodge, was convicted of failing to make a ‘required disclosure’ to the authorities about a house sale when, as a solicitor, he knew or suspected or had reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting money laundering was taking place. He was jailed for 15 months by Judge Marten Coates following a two-week trial at Warwick Crown Court."    Shropshire Star - link removed. Correction    20 Jun 2006
Solicitor stole from clients A Solicitor was jailed yesterday for stealing £140,000 from his clients to fund a failing second business. Richard Dawson, 54, put clients of Dawson's Solicitors in "financial hardship" while he poured their money into his new business.    IC Wales    08 Jun 2006
FRAUD: Con pair face ruin A COUPLE are today facing ruin and the loss of their home after a pair of smiling swindlers stole £90,000 from their business. Engaged couple Tracey Holdsworth (42) and Mark Jackson (50) were facing problems with their electrical firm when they fell for the charm of Michael Brandon, who said he had the financial know-how to turn things around.They little suspected that the conman, and his partner Simon Rutledge, would bleed them dry and leave them in despair. Today, the only consolation for Tracey and Mark, of Dunsberry, Bretton, Peterborough, is that they were not the only victims of the conmen's convincing story of business acumen. They can also take comfort from the fact that glib-talking Brandon, who admitted 16 counts of obtaining £250,000 from his victims by deception has been sent to prison for three and a half years. His cohort, Rutledge, a disbarred solicitor, has been ordered to do 240 hours of community work for his part in profiting from the misery of others.    Peterborough Today    30 May 2006
Town lawyer is struck offA dishonest Shrewsbury solicitor who pocketed nearly £10,000 of a client’s cash entrusted to him for a house purchase has been struck off. Stephen Morecroft, of Battlefield Road, also forged vendors’ signatures on documents and tried to trick a hospital into handing over confidential records.    Shropshire Star    26 May 2006
Solicitor who stole £1.3m gets 7 years jailA greedy solicitor who stole nearly £1.3 million from clients' accounts to live a life of luxury was today jailed for seven years. Timothy Miles, 45, a former chairman of his local Round Table, paid off the mortgage on the family home in Uxbridge and then bought himself a luxury flat in Gerrards Cross which he furnished opulently when his marriage broke up. He also bought a Jaguar car. He admitted 13 charges of theft and one of forgery of two wills over a four year period until a routine audit while he was on holiday led to his arrest. Miles, a salaried partner in the Uxbridge firm of Bird and Lovibond which he joined in 1994, earning up to £60,000 a year, dealt with conveyancing, wills and probate, said counsel.    LSE    26 May 2006
Solicitor admits money laundering A solicitor from County Armagh has pleaded guilty to involvement in money laundering at a Liverpool Court. Brian Dougan, 48, from Brootally Road, Milford, admitted using his firm's business account to handle money from a red diesel money laundering scam.    BBC    23 May 2006
Solicitor struck off for £350,000 mortgage fraud A Flitwick solicitor who dishonestly misappropriated more than £350,000 of clients' money to help a crooked property dealer was thrown out of the profession on Tuesday. Linda Collier, 45, of Glebe Avenue, handed over an initial £141,850 entrusted to her by a mortgage company to a businessman who claimed he needed the funds to finance a string of home deals. The client, referred to as Mr B, promised he would pay back the money on Collier's return from a holiday to Luton law firm Churchman Thacker, where she was a partner.    Bedford Today    06 May 2006
Solicitor is guilty of misconduct A DITHERING solicitor who allowed a house to fall into ruin has been found guilty of professional misconduct. The Scottish Solicitors' Discipline Tribunal heard William Rennie, 53, of Kilmarnock, was asked to deal with the estate of a couple who died just weeks apart, without leaving wills.    Glasgow Evening Times    27 Apr 2006
Misconduct solicitor struck off A Newton Stewart solicitor has been struck off after being found guilty of 15 counts of professional misconduct. Nicholas McCormick, 47, who traded out of offices at 28 Victoria Street, was found guilty by a Law Society discipline tribunal. It found that he had breached a catalogue of rules and ignored complaints made against him by clients.    BBC    27Apr 2006
Clerk used client's cashA CROOKED solicitors clerk from Banbury paid off £4,000 of customers' debt with cash taken from other clients, a misconduct hearing was told. Elizabeth Gough pretended she had recovered the money owed to the clients in court judgements when in fact she had simply taken it from another account. In one case Gough paid out £1,886 and in another £2,000 was sent to trusting clients using others customer's money, the Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal heard. Bosses at Blake Lapthorn Linnell, in Westway, Oxford, put her on extended leave in January 2004 to investigate the cases when they discovered there was a problem.    This is Oxfordshire    21 Apr 2006
Tribunal upholds FSA case against solicitor The Financial Services and Markets Tribunal has upheld a Financial Services Authority (FSA) case against Allen Phillip Elliott after finding that he is not fit and proper to work in any part of the UK's regulated financial services industry. The Tribunal stated that Mr Elliott's history shows that "he is not able and willing to comply with requirements placed on him by professional rules and obligations" and that he was not open and honest in his dealings with regulators. The Tribunal found that Mr Elliott "poses a risk to the protection of consumers and a risk to the reputation of the market" and it concluded that a Prohibition Order was necessary "in order to protect consumers from risk and … to maintain market confidence." Mr Elliott is not authorised by the FSA, but he operates an unregulated mortgage investment scheme through his company FMD Trustees Plc. He obtains client referrals and introductions from authorised financial advisers who may be unaware of his history. (Follow link, right, for full text)    Financial Services Authority    05 Apr 2006
Solicitor struck off A solicitor who stole money from the dead and disabled has been kicked out of the legal profession. Nicholas Pounder, 47, plundered the estates of dead clients to pay off a car loan and went on a luxury holiday to Spain on money belonging to a disabled man. The solicitors' disciplinary tribunal in London heard how Pounder, a former partner in David and Snape, Wyndham Street, Bridgend, stole more than £168,000 over six years, creating bogus letters to cover his tracks.    IC Wales    16 Mar 2006
Norfolk solicitor suspended A Norfolk solicitor who agreed to falsify a lie detector test in order to help a client blow the lid on a steamy love affair was yesterday suspended for two years. Trevor Beckford, 53, of Hall Road, Thurton, near Loddon, was found guilty at a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal hearing in London of involvement in the bizarre scheme to expose a love cheat, and was warned that any further misconduct would result in him being struck off. (Solicitors also fail lie detector tests. UJ)    Eastern Daily Press    15 Mar 2006
Former solicitor jailed for theft A former Anglesey solicitor who stole £143,000 from clients has been jailed for two-and-a-half years. Stephen Puleston Williams, 50, from Holyhead, stole the money from clients over a three-year period. He admitted theft and forgery at Chester Crown Court before being sentenced on Tuesday.    BBC    28 Feb 2006
Solicitor who smuggled drugs into Barlinnie named A solicitor who admitted smuggling drugs into Glasgow's Barlinnie prison can now be named. It follows a successful legal challenge by lawyers from media companies including Scottish Television to a High Court ruling that Angela Baillie's name should be kept out of the press. She is now facing a lengthy prison sentence after pleading guilty.    Scottish TV    07 Feb 2006
Lawyer supplied drugs to prisoner A solicitor has admitted supplying drugs to a Barlinnie Prison inmate. Heroin and diazepam with a street value of more than £1,600 were handed over in a cigarette packet which had been opened and resealed, the court heard.    BBC    06 Feb 2006
Top lawyer killed wife in vicious knife attack A partner at one of Britain’s biggest law firms stabbed his wife to death in a "ferocious" attack just days after she told him she was having an affair, a court heard today. Christopher Lumsden, 52, used a kitchen knife to stab his wife Alison in the neck, face and back as she sat at a dressing table in the bedroom of their home near Altrincham, Cheshire, on the evening of March 16 last year.    Times Online    06 Feb 2006
DISHONEST SOLICITOR STRUCK OFFA DISGRACED solicitor has been struck off after borrowing tens of thousands of pounds from dead clients' estates. A Law Society disciplinary tribunal found Adrian Gerard Donkin, a trusted solicitor for 30 years, had acted dishonestly by misusing money in customers' accounts, as loans for himself.Donkin, whose three-and-a-quarter acre home in Boldon Lane, Cleadon, is up for sale for £950,000, was also slammed for taking a £25,000 personal loan from a grieving woman too upset to accept inheritance money after the death of her brother.    Sunderland Today    28 Jan 2006
You'll be jailed for theft from clients A DISGRACED solicitor who plundered more than £143,000 from clients was yesterday warned he faced jail. Stephen Pulston Williams, of Holborn Road, Holyhead, admitted four charges of theft, three of false accounting, and one forgery charge. The 50-year-old was the senior partner in the longstanding law firm of Prothero Williams with offices in Valley, Holyhead and Bangor. He was struck off in 2002, after he admitted using clients' cash for his own use, leaving a £172,000 black hole. The firm, closed down by a legal watchdog, was later taken over.    IC North Wales    25 Jan 2006
Solicitor barredA solicitor who used his clients’ money when he ran his business from a hut in his garden at Harlow, Essex, was struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. Michael Blow, 55, had a £546,000 “black hole” in his accounts. Some of the money will have to be found by the solicitors’ insurance fund.    Times Online    02 Dec 2005
Crooked lawyers ordered to pay up A SOLICITOR and his law firm must pay £360,000 to 63 investors involved in a boiler room scam the Court of Appeal ruled today. John Martin and Adrian Sam & Co ("ASC"), the former London-based law firm at which Martin was a partner, were found guilty in December 2004 of being involved in an illegal overseas investment firm's 'boiler room' activities in the UK.    This is Money Financial Services Authority    26 Nov 2005
Lawyer jailed for stealing 6 mln stg from clients LONDON (Reuters) - A solicitor was jailed for eight years on Thursday for stealing over 6 million pounds from his clients. Michael Fielding, 59, used his position as a partner at law firm Lawrence Graham to fraudulently sign off requests for scores of payments over a 3-year period. "At present, 140 unauthorised withdrawals totalling 6.5 million pounds have been identified," police said after Fielding was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court.    Reuters    03 Nov 2005
Fugitive City lawyer faces jail A top City lawyer, who used to advise the Princess Diana Memorial Trust, is to be sentenced this week after admitting stealing at least £6.5m from his clients. Michael Fielding, a former partner at solicitors Lawrence Graham, was a fugitive from justice for more than four years...    Independent    31 Oct 2005
Fraudulent solicitor is struck off A solicitor who was jailed for 28 days after admitting stealing from a charity has been struck off by the Law Society. Christopher Savage was convicted at Lowestoft Magistrate's Court in December after a court heard he had abused his position as treasurer to the Beccles Round Table and Beccles Business Association(BBA) by taking money destined for the James Paget Hospital (JPH) at Gorleston.    Eastern Daily Press    17 Oct 2005
Lawyer jailed for embezzling cash A solicitor who embezzled more than £100,000 from his Glasgow law firm has been jailed for two years. Calum Blyth, 34, admitted taking the money from the firm's account over two-and-a-half years in the late 1990s. Judge Lord McPhail told the High Court in Edinburgh that cases of embezzling by solicitors damaged public confidence in the legal profession.    BBC    16 Sept 2005
Solicitor abused client's child A solicitor has been jailed for grooming the 10-year-old daughter of a client before abusing her.Anthony Bare, 48, of Lumb Lane in Droylsden, Gtr Manchester, bought the girl gifts before attacking her twice.    BBC    30 Aug 2005
Shady lawyer left us in the cold J.W. writes: "I have a problem with the Law Society. I run a wholesale business selling beers, wines and spirits, and after a customer's cheque for £40,000 bounced, we cut off supplies. The customer said new finance was being raised and cash was imminent. We accepted an undertaking from the customer's solicitor that we would be paid in full, so supplies were reinstated. Well, the firm was refinanced, but we never received our cash as promised and we put the firm into liquidation".. Tony Hetherington replies: "LET'S name names. The company that owes you money is called Tockheath. When it went bust, you had received £16,500, leaving £23,500 due. And the solicitor who gave the dud promise to pay you is Barry Roberts. Writing on the notepaper of his firm, Roberts & Co of Sheffield, he said: 'As solicitors for and on behalf of Tockheath, we hereby undertake to discharge your outstanding account in the sum of £40,000 from the proceeds of the refinancing operation.' What could be clearer? Roberts was not writing on Tockheath notepaper, he did not sign himself as a director of Tockheath and he wrote as a solicitor, nothing else. But there is more to Roberts than meets the eye. Not long after he made his promise to you, his firm was shut down by the Law Society"... Read the full text, link on right:- Also by Tony Hetherington: Why Crooks are Laughing    This is Money    30 Aug 2005
LAWYER STOLE £108KA FORMER solicitor faces jail after admitting embezzling £108,000 from clients when his firm plunged into debt.    Glasgow Daily Record    13 Aug 2005
Solicitor struck off after using client fund A NORTH Yorkshire solicitor has been struck off after taking £20,000 from his firm's accounts to pay his utility bills. A solicitors' tribunal yesterday heard fellow partners at Northallerton firm Jefferson Willan and Co became concerned Roland Heslop-Gill was withdrawing excessive sums every month as salary.    Yorkshire Post    03 Aug 2005

PS. This incredible list of ‘crooked lawyers’ (the first 15 pages cut&pasted on 11/01/09) is independent evidence for the assertions by Diarmuid Hannigan. “What other explanations are possible?” J.F.

Jailed: Solicitor's wife who stole £80,000 from husband's law firm to fund fruit machine addiction
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 5:20 PM on 27th May 2008
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Jailed: Susanne Orton outside Bournemouth Crown Court
A solicitor's wife who stole £80,000 from his law firm to fund her addiction to fruit machines has been jailed for 10 months.
Susanne Orton, 63, blew up to £500 a night playing slot machines at a bingo hall.
She was out five times a week and over two years spent £100,000 of the couple's own savings before helping herself to money from the solicitors' practice.
Mum-of-two Orton was employed as a conveyancing assistant at legal firm Harold G Walker, where her husband Kim was a senior partner.
A court heard she turned to gambling while suffering from stress due to the long hours of her job.
Mr Orton thought his wife went to bingo to help her relieve the stress and had no idea she was spending so much on slot machines.
She sank deeper and deeper into debt and started to "rob Peter to pay Paul". She repeatedly transferred clients' money into her own bank account to cover her tracks.
James Patrick, prosecuting, said from 2004 Orton began frittering away her and her husband's savings.
She blew £30,000 the couple had saved for a deposit on a buy-to-let property, their fourth such home.
Mr Patrick said: "The £30,000 had been spent by Mrs Orton who had gambled it away on fruit machines.
"She moved £30,000 from a client account into their account and she kept moving money."  He said this behaviour continued until she was discovered and the final figure stolen was £79,655.
In 2006, while the couple were on holiday in Egypt, the firm noticed financial irregularities and launched an investigation.
Mr Patrick added: "When they returned, Mrs Orton became aware of the investigation and as a result set up a transfer of money to another account to repay £63,000." 

One-armed bandit: Susanne Orton took money from her husband's firm to fund her £500-a-night slot machine habit
The couple were both arrested but Mr Orton was released without charge. He has since repaid all the money plus interest, but has still lost his job.
Susan Evans, defending, said Orton, from Bournemouth, Dorset, was a "pathologic gambler" who was "utterly appalled" by her behaviour.
She said the stress and long hours of her job led her to seek relief by gambling on fruit machines at Gala Bingo in the town.
She said: "Such was the stress that she turned to gambling and was out up to five nights a week spending up to £500 a night.
"She spent £100,000 of their own money and had a pathologic gambling disorder.
"Everything snowballed and she robbed Peter to pay Paul. Her real fear was that her husband would find out." 
Sentencing her to 10 months in prison, judge Christopher Harvey Clark said: "The offences involve so much money and took place over such a long period and involved such duplicity on your part that the court has no alternative but to pass a custodial sentence.
"This is a sad day for you and I'm sorry I've had to pass this sentence." 
At an earlier hearing at Bournemouth Crown Court, Orton admitted four counts of theft and four of false accounting.
In a statement, Bournemouth-based Harold G Walker said: "We dealt with the matter by taking swift action and would like to thank the authorities for their help in finally bringing this matter to a satisfactory conclusion."

PS. The statement by the sentencing Judge:- Sentencing her to 10 months in prison, judge Christopher Harvey Clark said: "The offences involve so much money and took place over such a long period and involved such duplicity on your part that the court has no alternative but to pass a custodial sentence.
"This is a sad day for you and I'm sorry I've had to pass this sentence." 

Could it be said that if this had been an ordinary member of the public, Judge Christopher - Harvey Clark, may have made a comment about 'having to face the full rigours of the law' or words of condemnation to that effect? J.F