Thursday, November 16, 2006

Ten Scottish Legal Firms to avoid - a roll call of infamy

Many people ask me which legal firm to recommend them to trust. I can't answer that. There are none.

Yes, I know of one or two very small, hard working legal firms .... but all things depend ultimately, on who you are, what you want them to do for you .. how much money you have (of course) ... and .. well .. even the most honest legal firm sometimes has a fly in the ointment .. so to speak .. so at the end of the day, you can't really trust any of them at all. You put your life and your money at risk, when you go to see a lawyer - even more so than smoking a cigarette.

If you want a cautionary note from the man who actually runs the Professional Indemnity Insurance of the entire legal profession in Scotland .. you should listen to this : Alistair Sim - Director of Marsh UK, once said to me .. "there isn't a lawyer in Scotland who hasn't had a complaint made against them". So, if you want a lawyer who hasn't had rolls of client complaints made against them .. hasn't been at the fiddle, had their fingers in the 'till, been embezzling clients funds behind their back .. etc .. you are going to have to ask for a written declaration from the solicitor or legal firm you go to as to their regulatory history. Should be as easy as that .. but of course, even the most charming small town lawyer, may have some deep dark secrets up their sleeve .. of faking up file papers to get out of complaint investigations or swindling a few banks ... and they certainly wont want you to find out about that !

Here is the list then .. of ten legal firms - some of them as you will see, more famous, or infamous, than others. If you go to these legal firms to do business, buy or sell a property, make a will .. or anything at all, you stand a good chance of being robbed blind or have your legal issues made a complete mess of. Take note that others have also had problems with these legal firms - not just me. Some people have even lost their homes, businesses, and more, through the actions of some of these legal firms. Try and do something about if after you discover your legal bills have been inflated, funds embezzled .. etc .. and you will get nowhere .. they all cover up for each other.

I would say, from my own experience, having used these legal firms and the accountancy firm from Hawick, in the Scottish Borders - the solicitors and legal firms on this list can be deadly to your health & wealth .. and they will work against you at every turn, despite smiling faces to the contrary. Sharks have nothing on this lot.

Avoid the following lawyers, accountants, & legal firms, unless you want major problems with your legal business !

Solicitors : Andrew Penman & Terrance McNally
Legal Firm : Stormonth Darling Solicitors, Kelso
Address : Bank Of Scotland Buildings, The Square, Kelso, TD5 7HQ Telephone: 01573 224143
Website : http://www.stormonthdarling.co.uk

Solicitor Nigel Hall & others
Legal Firm : Haddon & Turnbill WS,
Address: 55 High St Hawick, TD9 9BP, Tel : 01450 372336

Solicitor William Craib Anderson & other members of staff,
Legal Firm : Charles & RB Anderson WS (Haddon & Turnbull WS, Hawick)
Address : Royal Bank Buildings, 38 High Street, Jedburgh,TD8 6DF

Solicitor : Roderick Urquhart & others
Legal Firm : A & WM Urquhart, Edinburgh
Address : 16 Heriot Row Edinburgh Midlothian EH3 6HR

Website : http://www.urquharts.co.uk

Solicitor : David Sturrock & others
Legal Firm : Turnbull Simpson & Sturrock WS
Address : 26 High Street, Jedburgh, TD8 6AG

Solicitors : Sascha O'Hagan, Catriona Garcia & others
Balfour & Manson Solicitors
Address : 54-66 Frederick Street. Edinburgh

Website : http://www.balfour-manson.co.uk

Solicitor : David Reid
Legal Firm : Alex Morison & Co, Edinburgh
Solicitor : David Reid
Address : 51 Frederick Street Edinburgh Midlothian EH2 1LH

Solicitor : David Reid & others
Legal Firm : Morisons WS, Edinburgh
Address : Erskine House, 68-73 Queen Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4NN

Website : http://www.morisonsllp.com

Solicitor : David Reid (now a Law Accountant - more dangerous than ever)
Legal Firm : Campbell Smith WS
Address : 21 York Place , EDINBURGH , EH1 3EN.

Website : http://www.camsmith.co.uk

Solicitor : Michael G Robson
Legal Firm : Robsons WS, (currently not practising)
Ratho, Nr Edinburgh

Accountant : Norman James Howitt CA
Accountancy Firm : Welch & Co Chartered Accountants,
Address : 19 Buccleuch Street Hawick Roxburghshire TD9 0HL. Telephone 01450 372267
Website : http://www.welchca.co.uk

There are more names which you would also be advised to stay away from, of course .... the likes of Campbell Deane of Bannatyne Kirkwood France & Co in Glasgow, who pontificates occasionally on behalf of the legal profession in the Scotsman newspaper. Deane talks big about cleaning up the legal profession but isn't big on actions to tackle the crooked lawyers .. like the rest of his peers of course .. big on talk & nothing on substance. Deane recently lost a legal action for Lord George Robertson against the Sunday Herald newspaper .. and of course as you all know, he served on Tommy Sheridan's legal team until he was dropped .. probably one of the best moves Sheridan made in his case. Deane had a hold of my client file, but decided against taking me on ... too much for him I bet .. but it didn't stop him taking a few swipes at me .. but the people around him at the Scotsman told me back .. and it turns out, they resent lawyers being slapped onto the staff to write propaganda for the legal profession - which everyone these days knows is crooked.

Another lawyer who has been involved in legal representation for my family, albeith briefly, is Ron Hastings of Hastings & Co Solicitors & Estate Agents .. another one of those dangerous lawyers from Kelso, in the Scottish Borders you would be well advised to steer clear of. Hastings was involved in a bitter 2 year fight with a neighbour to force me out of my home. Hastings lost the case for his client, after his attenpts of two years to prevent my legal aid failed - thanks to Phil Gallie on that one, who again, saved my bacon. Hastings sometimes has rants about me to some of his clients .. poor chap, I think he might need help.

Looking for someone to blame for all this ? Blame Douglas Mill over at the Law Society of Scotland .. and his friend Philp Yelland.

It could also be said that Andrew Penman of Stormonth Darling Solicitors in Kelso, is responsible for the mess the Scottish legal profession finds itself in today ... so instead of blaming me, the crooked gang at the Law Society of Scotland and their cohorts should go knock on Mr Penman's door .. after all .. it was his thieving, along with that of bent accountant Norman Howitt, which started the whole thing off.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, I've spent half the night reading all this, and now understand why the Law Society want you dead.

You HAVE to be the biggest threat to their existence and GOOD FOR YOU. NICE TO SEE A PERSON STAND UP FOR HIMSELF AND OTHERS. THERE SHOULD BE A LOT MORE OF IT.

Anonymous said...

Starting to get worried as you mentioned Balfour & Manson. I have a case with them and it's going nowhere. Guess who I am taking on.

I will email you Mr Cherbi.

Anonymous said...

That's a real list of twisters if ever I saw one.
With all those names, no wonder the lawyers were covering up your complaints.
I bet they were all talking to each other behind your back and making sure your cases were lost - which is what seems to have happened from your blog posts I see.
Nasty nasty lawyers. Its about time their own complaints club was ended.

Anonymous said...

Reading that list I'm not surprised you won't recommend a lawyer. I don't trust any of them now after reading this and other websites. No doubt in my mind at all now that scotlands legal mafia are a bunch of crooks.

Anonymous said...

and meanwhile in the news today, your lower-than-the-shit-that-comes-out-of-a-rat Howitt will be dipping his hands into the new Borders College/Heriot Watt Uni fund. Norman Howitt is a BOARD MEMBER of the Borders College and a real ASSHOLE. Creeps me out to see him wander about young people. YUK.

Check out the news here for a ref: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/south_of_scotland/6158732.stm

Everyone here in Gala knows this little runt. Think I will spread around what he did to your mum. The little thief that he is

Anonymous said...

I am quite disturbed to read this blog.
It seems there would be difficulty in anyones mind trusting their lawyer after seeing what happened to you.
Perhaps you could tell us what steps you took to try and resolve this mess, if you were able to do anything ?
Do you receive threats from the legal profession ? If so, what have you done about it ?
Has anyone approached you to settle your cases against these firms of solicitors ?
Do you think independent regulation of complaints will benefit the public ?

Anonymous said...

THose little fuckers Penman & Howitt have a LOT to answer for

Anonymous said...

Campbell Smith are a terrible firm.
Robson is the lawyer who messed up your case against the hospital over your mum's death ? I read that on the evening news website.

Diary of Injustice said...

#A.Reading

I don't know where to begin in answering your questions. If you email me via the link on the blog front page, I can send you some paperwork to show what I did, but pretty much of what I have done to try & fix matters is on this blog.

Your questions in order then :

# Perhaps you could tell us what steps you took to try and resolve this mess, if you were able to do anything ?

I went through 10 firms of lawyers. All failed me, on purpose - not by accident. If you get a builder who does a bad job, the next one you get usually fixes it. That didn't happen in my case, as you can see, and I am still not able to resolve the situation with my cases, due to what is now obvious discrimination by the legal profession against representing me.

# Do you receive threats from the legal profession ? If so, what have you done about it ?

Yes I have received many threats. These take the form of harrassement, giving false information to authorities about me, etc ... I have also been threatened by lawyers who have sought to get some of their more nastier clients to visit me for a kicking. Ironically, one of them refused to do it and informed on the plot.

# Has anyone approached you to settle your cases against these firms of solicitors ?

No.

# Do you think independent regulation of complaints will benefit the public ?

Obviously it will, but lawyers won't stop being crooked. They will just get more imaginative and devious.

I hope that answers your questions. Your link says BBC ? if that is really the case, please read this article I wrote : http://petercherbi.blogspot.com/2006/03/bbc-radio-scotland-debate-on-legal.html
and you can find out for yourself how I did against 2 members of the legal profession on BBC Radio.

Anonymous said...

I'm curious about any dealings you had with Sascha O'Hagan.

You may have dealt with her at Balfour & Manson, but Sascha O'Hagan is now with Drummond Miller.

What did B&M do to the case which was handled by Michael Robson relating to your mothers death and appeared in the Evening News ?