Friday, December 24, 2010

Season’s Greetings : Give Scotland a lasting Christmas present by signing Holyrood petition to rid Scots consumers of unjust ‘Law Society’ regulation

Lewis Chess ChristmasSeason’s Greetings from Scotland. As the year draws to a close, and reflecting on nearly twenty years of campaigning for legal reforms, ten years of reporting matters connected with Scotland’s justice system, and soon to enter a sixth year of writing articles on this, my personal blog, “A Diary of Injustice in Scotland”, I would like to take the opportunity on this somewhat chilly Christmas Eve to wish all my readers, my colleagues in the media who have assisted the aims of fighting injustice over the years by their work, all the victims of injustice, themselves & their families, whether the injustice it be at the hands of the professions or even the justice system itself, and those inside the Scots legal profession I personally know who do their utmost for clients, Season’s Greetings, a Merry Christmas, and good luck for the New Year, 2011.

I will also take this opportunity to remind everyone there is a petition currently at the Scottish Parliament which readers may wish to consider signing, if you are of the opinion the Law Society of Scotland has had its day, both as a representative of the legal profession, and as a representative of the client’s best interests … the latter of which we all know has always been an issue which comes second to the Law Society’s protection of their own members interests. I have signed the petition and would encourage others to do so, and to attend the Scottish Parliament when the petition is to be heard, a date I will inform readers of when more information becomes available.

The e-petition which is currently open for signatures until 6th January 2011 calls “on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to repeal the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980, end self-regulation, and remove the independence of the legal profession, bringing it onside with true democracy.”

To sign the e-petition and learn more about it’s aims, CLICK HERE. Alternatively you can text '421' and your name to 07537 400395 to add your e-signature to this e-petition. (Texts are charged at your standard network rate. Text signatures will not appear instantly.)

You can read more about the petition in my previous coverage of it in early December, here : Law Society’s legislative powerbase 'is anti-consumer' as Holyrood to hear petition calling for repeal of the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas to you too Peter and thanks for all your wonderful efforts against the Law Society over the years!

Anonymous said...

Good evening Peter, self regulation is the best lawyer protection there is, so I hope as many people sign the petition to end their infinite power.

Anonymous said...

I've signed the petition already and will ask friends to do same.
Have a good Christmas and New Year Peter.

Anonymous said...

A previous Article on Peter's Blog'

Ex Law Society Chief Executive Douglas Mill was on at least £120k a year and did huge damage to Scots lawyers reputations. A former Council member of the Law Society speaking this morning claimed that in the wake of the Society's now ex Chief Executive Douglas Mill's resignation over the memo scandal, where Mill was brought down after a determined & admirable campaign by Cabinet Secretary for Finance John Swinney to expose corruption at the Law Society, many of the executives on huge salaries at the Society's Drumsheugh Gardens office should either be sacked or forced to resign immediately.

He said : "Many senior officials at the Law Society I know personally, have ended up doing more harm than good for the Scots legal profession.”

“If the membership actually had a vote and a say in things which they are paying for anyway, most of that crowd who are being paid far too much for what they do, would have been gone years ago.”

He went to accuse the Law Society of greed and direct harm to public access to justice : "The ineptitude of officials at the Law Society is not only causing harm to the legal profession, they are, through their waste millions from solicitors annual contributions, and disgraceful mismanagement of client relations, causing direct harm to the public's ability to access legal services in smaller communities, where say for instance, small legal firms and sole practitioners are being forced out of business because they cannot afford to fund the likes of £300,000 salaries for executives at the Law Society to prattle on in a fantasy world like idiots."

An official from a consumer organisation this morning said he found dealing with the Law Society of Scotland to be "rather like trying to bargain with the devil."

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE, PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION TO END LAW SOCIETY DICTATORIAL POWER.

Anonymous said...

Happy Holidays from NY
Keep up the good work!

Anonymous said...

I have had my life torn apart by a crooked lawyer leaving me with Psychiatric and suicidal problems which I will fight every day until these bastards are brought to justice, so if I can motivate myself to supporting this petition you lot can, so get it signed.

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas to the one who dares to write against the legal industry.FULL MARKS!

Anonymous said...

Inevitably the Law Society will go out of their way to butter up the Petitions Committee members and see this idea is choked at birth.Anyway I've signed it and hope many others do too.
Maybe we should all show up when its due to be heard by the bought off msps so keep us posted when this is to happen!

and keep up the good work of course!

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

I have had my life torn apart by a crooked lawyer leaving me with Psychiatric and suicidal problems which I will fight every day until these bastards are brought to justice, so if I can motivate myself to supporting this petition you lot can, so get it signed.

Correct those who are accountable to their own are unaccountable in law.

MSP's END SELF REGULATION.

Anonymous said...

HBM SAYERS EDINBURGH WEBSITE CLAIM

Professional Indemnity

We offer a service to clients which incorporate the following features:-

A team led by one of the few Solicitor Advocate Queen’s Counsel in Scotland, ALL INSURED BY ROYAL SUN ALLIANCE.

Extensive experience in dealing with Professional Indemnity claims against solicitors, accountants, engineers, surveyors and veterinary surgeons. ALL INSURED BY ROYAL SUN ALLIANCE.


An extensive database of independent experts on all professional disciplines. INSURED BY ROYAL SUN ALLIANCE. ALL EXPERTS SAY THE PROFESSIONAL WAS NOT AT FAULT, THIS MEANS THE EXPERTS INSURERS DO NOT PUT THEIR PREMIUMS UP.

An approach which is sympathetic to the professional and financial consequences for a professional practice as a result of a claim being pursued against them.

We are one of a handful of firms selected by the Law Society of Scotland WHO ARE ALSO INSURED BY ROYAL SUN ALLIANCE to deal with claims against fellow Solicitors in Scotland. We have done so extensively for over fifteen years and this service has been extended to many other professional disciplines. VICTIMS OF CROOKED LAWYERS CANNOT GET LAWYERS TO REPRESENT THEM.

SO ALL ARE INSURED BY THE SAME COMPANY. IF LAWYERS AND SO CALLED INDEPENDENT EXPERTS INSURERS WILL BE PAYING A CROOKED LAWYERS, ENGINEERS, VET, SURVEYORS DAMAGES, THERE IS NO POINT IN TRYING TO SUE ONE OF THESE PEOPLE.

WAKE UP HBM SAYERS, YOU ARE ALSO INSURED BY ROYAL SUN ALLIANCE, YOU ARE FOOLING NO ONE.

NO ONE SUES A LAWYER, DOCTOR, VET, ENGINEER, SURVEYOR, THE LAWYERS ALL ARE IN BED WITH THE INSURER WHO WOULD BE PAYING THE DAMAGES.

Anonymous said...

Law Society boss Mill lied to Swinney, Parliament as secret memos reveal policy of intervention & obstruction on claims, complaints.

Negligent or crooked lawyers in Scotland can be thankful for at least two weapons in their defence against complaints when a client realises they were ripped off.

The first weapon in a dishonest lawyers arsenal against such a complaint, would be the Law Society of Scotland, the legal profession's well known self regulator of complaints against solicitors, who act only as a control point to ensure their members are unaffected by even the largest client frauds, poorest levels of service, and in some cases, criminal charges.

The second, perhaps more sinister weapon a crooked lawyer can always seem to rely upon, no matter how crooked they are, is, Douglas Mill, the Law Society's Ex Chief Executive for more than ten years.

So MSP's Mr Mill lied to John Swinney, Parliament as secret memos revealed policy of intervention & obstruction on claims, complaints.

The Law Society is corrupt lawyer protection organisation.

End Self Regulation and protect the people of Scotland who elected all of you.

Anonymous said...

ADD ACCOUNTANTS TO THIS LIST TOO.

WAKE UP HBM SAYERS, YOU ARE ALSO INSURED BY ROYAL SUN ALLIANCE, YOU ARE FOOLING NO ONE.

NO ONE SUES A LAWYER, DOCTOR, VET, ENGINEER, SURVEYOR, THE LAWYERS ALL ARE IN BED WITH THE INSURER WHO WOULD BE PAYING THE DAMAGES.

Anonymous said...

The BBC's 'Rip-Off Britain' is looking to do a feature on the Personal Injury Claim solicitors that offer 'no win, no fee' but then end up charging extortionate amounts when the case has been won.

If this has happened to you, please email:

BBC@solicitorsfromhell.co.uk

Let us know Peter when the programme is being transmitted if you can.

Anonymous said...

Season's greetings to you too Peter and for all your efforts over the years.
Keep giving the crooked a kicking in your exposes!

Anonymous said...

Good idea to get rid of the Law Society - I'm sure there will be as many solicitors as clients pleased with such a move!

Best wishes for 2011

Anonymous said...

An earlier article of Peter's.

Well, over the years, while I have of course, uncovered the likes of those letters from Douglas Mill to the Scottish Legal Aid Board, and the letter from Philip Yelland to my own lawyer, ordering him not to do particular things in my case ... there have been many meetings by Law Society staff against me, discussing tactics such as how to combat my access to publicity & the media, how to cause trouble for me on a personal and day-to-day level, to investigate me to see if they could come up with any scandal or rumour they could publicly use against me to shut me up ... etc .. you name it, they did it .. and not forgetting of course, several briefings to journalists against me - trying to suggest various untruths against me to scupper any new attempts at articles (all which failed of course, and resulted in me being told back by the journalists ...) .. so, I would say I have been 'through the mill' so to speak ...

I also found, that when the senior staff of the Law Society of Scotland and the supposed 'cream' of the Scottish legal profession, couldn't get their way against me, they would resort to the most horrible personal insults ... actually .. for people who consider themselves to be above everyone else, they don't half swear ! ... I have been called everything under the sun .. but, I am still here .. no scandal to my name (because there is none) .. and I have survived all of their attempts to manufacture information against me to try and lessen my credibility ...
=================================
Well Peter, these people do not shock me now. They are a collective of criminals who are so full of hate they cannot see they keep digging deeper holes for themselves. It is the festive season but I have to say from my experience all lawyers are bastards. The sad thing is perhaps some lawyers help there clients, but the Law Society are doing more to ruin the profession. They are collective poison. I am vexed for any poor human being who trusts lawyers.

Anonymous said...

http://www.douglasmillconsulting.co.uk/

Douglas Mill, LLB., BA., MBA., D.Univ. – spent 18 years in private practice and over 11 years as Secretary and Chief Executive of the Law Society of Scotland. Before taking up the post in 1997 he was the Deputy Director for the Centre for Professional Legal Studies at Strathclyde University and the leader of the Law Society Practice Advisory Service.

Author/co-author of “Successful Practice Management”, “Successful law Firm Manager” and “Managing the Professional Partnership”.

Regular speaker at National and International Conferences and has held the post of President of the International Institute of Law Association Chief Executives from 2006 to 2008.

His site says nothing about his dishonest memos, on him protecting crooked lawyers. Qualified Priviledge Douglas, you know I am correct. You have a Glasgow law firm to thank for me not trusting your Law Society. Honest people do not resign, they stand and fight.

Anonymous said...

http://www.lawscot.org.uk/forthepublic/solicitor-standards

Law Society Standards for Solicitors. I bet the Law Society believe this rhetoric.

Solicitors must act with honesty and integrity at all times. THEIR IDEA OF HONESTY IS LIES.

Solicitors and their staff must keep their client’s business confidential. IF THEY DO NOT IS A DOUGLAS MILL GOING TO PROTECT THE CLIENT.

Solicitors must act in their client’s best interests, although they must balance this duty
with their other duties such as their duty to the courts or other solicitors. THIS MEANS PROTECT YOUR COLLEAGUES BEFORE YOUR CLIENT.

The fees charged by solicitors must be fair and reasonable. WHO DECIDES, PHILLIP YELLAND?

Solicitors can only work on their client’s behalf when they have their client’s permission
or permission from a court with the relevant authority. B******T, THEY SELF REGULATE SO THEY DO WHAT THEY WANT. WHO WILL STOP THEIR CORRUPTION? OTHER LAWYERS. GIVE US A BREAK.

Solicitors must be thorough, diligent and know the relevant law.

Solicitors must communicate clearly and effectively with their clients. DO THEY? LOOK AT

http://www.solicitorsfromhell.co.uk/index.php

Lawyers protect each other, that is the reality, trust them not.

Solicitors will treat each other with mutual respect and trust. This respect and trust
includes not communicating directly with each other’s clients.

When providing a legal service, solicitors must be independent and must not be influenced by inappropriate or illegal considerations. SO YOU PROVIDE SERVICES FOR WILLS, IF A LAWYER STEALS A CLIENTS MONEY THE LATTER NEEDS A LAWYER TO SUE THEIR LAWYER.

When solicitors are consulted about matters in which they have a personal interest,
they must explain that interest to the client. ROYAL SUN ALLIANCE SPRINGS TO MIND HERE.

Solicitors must behave with respect towards the court and must state the law and
the facts honestly and accurately. DISHONEST BASTARDS, THEY WOULD LIE TO THEIR MOTHERS.

Anonymous said...

As well as representing its members, the Society promotes the interests of the public in relation to the solicitors' profession. This section contains information on some common legal issues, solicitor standards, consumer protections for the public and how to make a complaint about a solicitor.

This is Law Society Lies, they only care about the protection of lawyers. Do not trust these people, they are driven to protect the profession, not you the client.

Anonymous said...

Repeal of the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980. This act is tantamount to legal dictatorship. It must end, you MSP's duty is to the public, not the Scottish Legal Profession.

End self regulation in 2011. no more mealy mouthed attenpts like the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission.