How lawyers regulate themselves is to blame for current mess says Legal Aid Board. AHEAD of a BBC Scotland investigation Lawyers Behaving Badly which reports on failings in how lawyers regulate themselves, to be broadcast later today at 10:35pm on BBC One Scotland, the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) has revealed it has long standing concerns that it can take too long for the Law Society of Scotland and the current mix of lawyer controlled regulators to investigate and make decisions in disciplinary cases involving solicitors.
In a lengthy statement issued to the media earlier today, a spokesperson for the Scottish Legal Aid Board said: “We welcome the BBC’s interest in this important subject. We have been concerned for some time that it can take too long to get decisions in disciplinary cases involving solicitors.”
The spokesperson continued: “The legal aid system was set up to enable people who could not afford legal help to get access to it, rather than as a regulatory system for solicitors. While there were some regulatory aspects in the Legal Aid (Scotland)1986 Act, and further compliance aspects have been developed for areas like criminal registration, it is an on-going and developing process.
“When a solicitor who provides legal aid is found guilty of any offence it is obviously of concern to us, as it will be to the Law Society of Scotland as the statutory regulator of the legal profession in Scotland.”
“In the cases highlighted by the BBC where a solicitor was convicted for assault and the clerk of court was convicted for embezzlement, the Scottish Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal determined in 2001 and 2004 respectively that neither offence was sufficiently serious for either solicitor to be struck off.”
“At the time these cases took place we did not have the statutory powers through Section 31 of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act to exclude a solicitor from undertaking legal aid work and representing legal aid clients. Section 31 powers were with the Law Society of Scotland and the Faculty of Advocates until May 2011, at which time they transferred to SLAB.”
“Since taking over the Section 31 powers, we have put in place a procedure we will follow in determining whether to exclude a solicitor or advocate. We are also to be notified by the Law Society of Scotland whenever there are disciplinary findings against a solicitor. Where we consider that a lawyer has acted in an inappropriate manner we will exercise sanctions available to us under the legal aid legislation.”
“It remains the case, though, that while we are robust in our protection of the legal aid fund and the regulation of solicitors registered to provide legal assistance, there is a limit to the powers we can exercise if the profession’s regulatory body itself doesn’t find it necessary to prevent a solicitor from practising.”
“Solicitors undertaking criminal legal aid must register with us, and we have powers to de-register a solicitor from criminal legal aid work where we have evidence of abuse of the legal aid fund or breaches in our criminal Code of Practice. Where appropriate, a report is sent to the Procurator Fiscal, who makes a determination on whether to prosecute or not. This is not a matter for the Board.We will continue to monitor those solicitors on the Registers and act decisively against those who breach the Code.”
“Following investigations by the Board we did just that when we de-registered the solicitor Iain Robertson and his firm Robertson and Ross. In 2010, both he and the firm were removed from the criminal register for failing to comply with our Code of Practice. A sum of £221,847 was also repaid to the Legal Aid Fund.
“The registration process for civil is different to the criminal scheme and a solicitor cannot be de-registered. The only sanction to exclude a solicitor from undertaking legal aid is to use Section 31 powers. At the time these powers lay with the Law Society. This option was not employed in respect of Mr Robertson.”
The spokesperson for the Legal Aid Board also said SLAB supported an idea from the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) that a regulator’s forum should be set up, stating : “We believe there should be greater coordination between the regulators of the legal profession and we support the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission’s suggestion that a legal regulators’ forum is set up.”
However, it was recently revealed the troubled SLCC, which itself is viewed with suspicion from clients & solicitors alike, and appears to be more part of the problem rather than part of a solution, has its own issues of perceived pro-lawyer bias with a full complement of staff & Law Society insiders revealed in an exclusive Diary of Injustice report here : A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP : Investigation reveals Scotland’s ‘independent’ legal regulator is mired in family, business & personal links to legal profession & Law Society
In response to today’s media coverage of the forthcoming BBC investigation, the Law Society of Scotland attempted to blame the Scottish Legal Aid Board for failings in dealing with problem lawyers who are still working with firms receiving large amounts of tax payer funded legal aid.
The Law Society Press Release stated : “We have yet to see the full documentary. However, coverage in advance of the broadcast has focused on the issue of the criminal and civil legal aid registers. The BBC has raised concerns over 33 solicitors who have had findings of professional misconduct against them and are on the legal aid register.”
“In each of the cases mentioned, the Society did act properly, investigating the complaints thoroughly and taking action to the independent Scottish Solicitors' Discipline Tribunal. It is only because of the actions of the Society and our evidence gathering that the findings of misconduct were made against the solicitors involved. However, it is always a matter for the independent tribunal to decide what action is taken against a solicitor found guilty of misconduct, whether that be a fine, censure, restriction, suspension or strike off. In these cases, the tribunal chose not to strike off the solicitor concerned.”
“It is the Scottish Legal Aid Board and not the Law Society of Scotland which maintains the legal aid registers. Whilst the Board has the ability to remove a solicitor from the register, the Society has no such power other than through the civil legal aid quality assurance scheme where a poor service has been provided by the firm directly to clients. In cases involving the abuse of legal aid money, we are dependent on the Board in making a conduct complaint through the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission for us to investigate and, where necessary, take to the discipline tribunal. In the specific cases raised directly with us by the BBC, the Scottish Legal Aid Board either chose not to complain or made a complaint but then withdrew it.”
Late this afternoon, a legal insider rubbished the Law Society’s attempt to blame the Legal Aid Board for failings in how the Society dealt with solicitors featured in the BBC programme.
He said: “The Law Society is disingenuous in its claim to effectively regulate its own members.”
He continued: “The fact is S31 complaints have been put to the Law Society of Scotland regarding solicitors who have taken hundreds of thousands of pounds of legal aid in a relatively short period of time, yet the Law Society chose to take years to deal with those complaints, constantly replace its own investigator and in the end, did nothing and allowed the solicitor to remain in work.”
HOW REGULATORS ‘DEALT’ WITH DODGY LEGAL AID SOLICITOR COMPLAINT :
A solicitor who ruined pensioner's legal affairs was given slap on the wrist by law complaints regulator SLCC. KILMARNOCK solicitor Niels S Lockhart, who was accused by the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) of making £670K worth of dodgy claims for legal aid work and who then went on to ruin the legal affairs of a pensioner and other clients was allowed to continue working as a lawyer after the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC), the ‘independent’ regulator of solicitors decided his firm NS Lockhart Solicitors need only pay a meagre fine of ONE HUNDRED POUNDS to a victim who had complained about the legal nightmare she had been put through.
Solicitor Niels Lockhart was the subject of lengthy investigations by the Scottish Legal Aid Board which were uncovered by Diary of Injustice & the Sunday Mail newspaper and reported earlier here : One law for lawyers : Secret Report reveals Legal Aid Board, Law Society & Legal Defence Union ‘cosy relationship’ in Lockhart case
Diary of Injustice published the full SLAB S31 complaint report to the Law Society of Scotland obtained after a Freedom of Information disclosure, here : SCOTTISH LEGAL AID BOARD S31 COMPLAINT REPORT TO THE LAW SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND : NIELS S LOCKHART
Diary of Injustice also revealed via a Freedom of Information investigation the Scottish Legal Aid Board asked Law Society to withdraw complaint after a secret deal was reached with Legal Defence Union. “In November 2010 SLAB advised the Law Society of Scotland that they had negotiated with Mr Lockhart his voluntary removal from the provision of legal assistance with effect from 1 November 2010 and acknowledged that the Society had separately received information from Mr Lockhart signalling his intention to withdraw from provision of all types of legal assistance. In the light of this, we sought to know from them whether they accepted SLAB’s withdrawal of the S31 complaint against Mr Lockhart.”
“In December 2010 the Law Society wrote to SLAB advising that they had accepted SLAB’s withdrawal of the complaint and that they were closing their file and taking no further action.”
Diary of Injustice also published the investigation carried out by the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission into Niels S Lockhart. The report, now in the hands of media outlets, can be viewed online here : SLCC Investigation of complaint against Niels S Lockhart of NS Lockhart Solicitors, Kilmarnock.
Crown Office also refused to prosecute dodgy legal aid lawyers. An exclusive report in the Sunday Mail newspaper also raised questions about the Crown Office lack of will to prosecute lawyers who were accused of legal aid fraud, revealing that FOURTEEN lawyers accused of multi-million pound legal aid fraud escaped justice as Scotland’s Crown Office fail to prosecute all cases in 5 years. Legal aid bosses reported 14 lawyers to prosecutors for allegedly fiddling a fortune in taxpayers' cash - but not a single one has been put in the dock. Eleven suspected fraud cases were marked no proceedings, one lawyer was declared insane, one died and the other is still being considered. Crown officials did not identify any of the lawyers involved or reveal the scale of their alleged fraud. The revelations were made by Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service director of operations Scott Pattison in response to a freedom of information request.
49 comments:
The lawyers mafia are sure running their own world in Scotland by the sounds of it,sorry I cannot view bbc maybe someone will put this online for us non UK readers?
Horrific!
Correct.The SLCC is part of the problem not a solution to all of this corruption in regulation of lawyers.
could exchange the title for "When thieves fall out"
and just why did the Legal aid Board write to the Law Society asking they drop a complaint against this solicitor in Kilmarnock?
You need some kind of public inquiry into how the legal profession cartel runs self regulation in Scotland and it cannot be charged by anyone connected to it or any judge or their lackey
How can 14 lawyers be reported for legal aid and no one gets prosecuted!
Crown Office is just as corrupt as the Law Society then!
Blame them not us: Legal Aid Board accuse Law Society over poor regulation of dodgy legal aid lawyers exposed in ‘Lawyers Behaving Badly’ BBC Scotland investigation.
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I blame you all, I hope the BBC tell the public watching this evening solicitors don't steal in lawyers ideology they 'borrow without consent'. What a twisted statement concerning the legalization of theft.
looking forward to the show,I see its only on BBC Scotland so will have to watch it on the sky dish
Is this tv investigation only about legal aid or the whole thing where people are getting ripped off by their lawyers?
“In each of the cases mentioned, the Society did act properly, investigating the complaints thoroughly and taking action to the independent Scottish Solicitors' Discipline Tribunal. It is only because of the actions of the Society and our evidence gathering that the findings of misconduct were made against the solicitors involved. However, it is always a matter for the independent tribunal to decide what action is taken against a solicitor found guilty of misconduct, whether that be a fine, censure, restriction, suspension or strike off. In these cases, the tribunal chose not to strike off the solicitor concerned.”
This is all a bold lie?
The Law Society of Scotland regularly break the law with impunity, cut shady deals to defeat the ends of justice and do everything they can to perpetrate further misery and distress to the victims of crooked Scottish lawyers?
The Crown office have also cut deals with the Law Society of Scotland to not prosecute known crooked lawyers because their crimes would mean jail, preferring instead to allow the Law Society of Scotland to keep the crooked Scottish lawyer working away, scheming and damaging innocent members of the Scottish Public?
There is an argument that these coordinated and complicit attacks on members of the public, where known crooked Scottish lawyers are let off SCOT-FREE, that some members of the public are going to be pushed over the edge and fight-back out of pure exasperation because of the unfairness and unlawfulness being perpetrated against them?
Of course, many from the 'dark-side' would argue that a member of the public has already done this to the former Head of Finance at the Law Society of Scotland, Mr Leslie Cumming but those with their noses close to the ground believe that the perpetrator is known to Mr Cumming and was an 'inside-job' in case he followed through with the idea of revealing all about the murky goings on by Office Bearers at the Law Society of Scotland?
This continual and unrelenting attack on innocent members of the public by the Law Society of Scotland and by all under their control has resulted in the complete mistrust of Scottish lawyers, which is hitting them in the pocket, as Scots are just NOT USING a Scottish lawyer anymore?
Why on earth would they?
The Law Society of Scotland have done an expert job of ruining the Scottish Legal Profession?
I saw one of the Law Society committee persons being interviewed on Reporting Scotland and she looked very uncomfortable about answering questions so hopefully will be a good investigation into these crooked lawyers
I saw one of the Law Society committee persons being interviewed on Reporting Scotland and she looked very uncomfortable about answering questions so hopefully will be a good investigation into these crooked lawyers
The trouble with 'dealing' with the Law Society of Scotland is you are certain to be drawn into illegality?
No point in excuses now?
You were happy enough at the time to collude with defeating the ends of justice for the Law Society of Scotland and the Crown Office?
Looks like you shot down both SLAB and the Law Society with your investigation of Mr Lockhart.
Well done.How did you get a copy of that S31 complaint?I have never seen one of those until now.
@ 15 January 2014 19:37
The problem with the inquiry system is there have been two Scottish Parliamentary inquiries into regulation of the legal profession and this is the result ...
@ 15 January 2014 20:06
The Crown Office appear to operate in the profession's interest rather than the public interest ... or in the interests of upholding the law.
@ 15 January 2014 21:44
The documents were obtained under Freedom of Information legislation ...
The spokesperson for the Legal Aid Board also said SLAB supported an idea from the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) that a regulator’s forum should be set up, stating : “We believe there should be greater coordination between the regulators of the legal profession and we support the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission’s suggestion that a legal regulators’ forum is set up.”
Totally bonkers idea given what we now know about the SLCC.
Does anyone at SLAB bother to read the newspapers or find out for themselves instead of believing their own PR machine?
Well now I've read your version and that report tagged on at the end I dont believe legal aid or the Law Society!
Why did the Legal Aid Board not tell anyone of these long standing concerns until now?
Just another diversion.Who wrote that statement?Was it someone from ScotGov?
Good programme on the BBC Scotland channel so you must be pleased about it.However one point I want to make about your version v what SLAB are reported to have told the BBC.
SLAB claimed the S31 powers were with the Law Society until 2011 but the S31 report you obtained on Lockhart has a 2006 date on it.
So there is a variance with what Legal Aid told the BBC and what has happened in cases of complaints raised by them with the Law Society.
Similarly the Law Society's statement is so full of holes one could drive a bus through it.
It is easy to conclude SLAB could have done a lot more and pushed the point with the Scottish Executive to crack down on the Law Society and their handling of complaints about legal aid fraud committed by solicitors.
Goodnight.
I see some loony lawyers are complaining about it on twitter already prolly they are worried people may get the impression the legal fraternity is full of crooks (mainly true) and their greedy money grabbing scams may not prove to be as good earners as before!
Congrats BBC a good show!
BBC did a good report for a change and the Law Society look as crooked as ever!
Clearly a lot to hide - the Legal Aid Board & Law Society blaming each other is news although you have probably heard this ploy thousands of times before now.
The Lockhart stuff you have is dynamite - why wasnt it on Lawyers Behaving Badly?
The Law Society, Legal Aid Board, SSDT, SLCC what they have in common is they they are their own police force. Where there is no law there is no illegality and no justice. Imagine no Police Force
we would not need prisons and courts and everyone would have their own idea of justice. This would result in chaos and the lynch mob.
With lawyers there is no complaints system because when you do complain you have over the power to deal with your complaint to the Legal Profession. People are stripped of any possibility of fairness because the lawyers career is more important than the clients situation resulting in recycles corrupt lawyers and permanently ruined members of the public. Secrecy and justice are mutually exclusive. This profession is a band of brothers which refuses legal representation to it's victims. Trust no lawyer. Lawyers control access to the courts, are staffed by lawyers and lawyers decide which cases go to court and who they will represent. No surprise the system is corrupt. It is like sitting your law exams and them marking them yourself.
You have made some of my office colleagues very angry today
Anonymous said...
could exchange the title for "When thieves fall out"
and just why did the Legal aid Board write to the Law Society asking they drop a complaint against this solicitor in Kilmarnock?
You need some kind of public inquiry into how the legal profession cartel runs self regulation in Scotland and it cannot be charged by anyone connected to it or any judge or their lackey
15 January 2014 19:37
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A Public Inquiry is the only way that this corruption can be sorted out and put right, afteral they are not going to send these key Office holders to jail for their part in criminality?
Instead, they will be invited to leave, no doubt with a secret compromise agreement and a golden handshake to keep their mouths shut?
The BBC's thorough journalism shows that this is just the tip of the ice berg and there is a lot more criminality to be unearthed?
The sooner a Public Inquiry is constituted the better?
Anonymous said...
I saw one of the Law Society committee persons being interviewed on Reporting Scotland and she looked very uncomfortable about answering questions so hopefully will be a good investigation into these crooked lawyers
15 January 2014 21:09
......................................
I noticed that the BBC went to the Law Society's offices but instead of someone in charge of the organisation appearing in front of the camera to answer for their crimes, they push the lay Convenor forward to face the music and of course she doesn't have a clue of what is going on (just they way they insidiously control her)?
Yes that Lockhart report should have been on the bbc no doubt about it.
Clever you asking for it and having the guts to publish!
Anonymous said...
You have made some of my office colleagues very angry today
16 January 2014 13:15
Poor you!Off to ruin some other client now are you?
Anonymous said...
could exchange the title for "When thieves fall out"
and just why did the Legal aid Board write to the Law Society asking they drop a complaint against this solicitor in Kilmarnock?
You need some kind of public inquiry into how the legal profession cartel runs self regulation in Scotland and it cannot be charged by anyone connected to it or any judge or their lackey
15 January 2014 19:37
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
Should it not be When 'Borrowers Without Consent' fall out?
Isn't it typical for the Law Society of Scotland representative to say that everything the Law Society does is done properly?
Do you know, I think that these brain-washed numpties actually believe this nonsense?
Why was the Law Society's Dark Lord (you know who you are) made to answer for his crimes?
Lawyers Behaving Badly where were all the top people from the SLCC the complaints departments of the LSS and some senior partners defending self regulation I am sure they would have been given the opportunity to appear, perhaps their fee was beyond the BBC budget. Lets hope it is the first of many programmes the interest in my local community was tremendous, it was only the tip of the iceberg.
Anonymous said...
You have made some of my office colleagues very angry today
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Getting harder for them to rip off their clients? Good they have a slight revulsion in their stomach's they should try being ruined clients. Why are they upset, they cannot stand the ugly truth. And in one respect you lawyers are all guilty, you all refuse to act for ruined clients so this is the situation you now find yourselves in. I would not accept legal representation under any circumstances I and thousands of other ruined clients know your collective Modus Operandi. The Law Society and it's support mechanisms are the enemy of every member of the public. DOI have not made your office colleagues very angry, they could not report on corruption if lawyers were honest. Good on you DOI Team keep up the pressure. Saving the Penman's is the reason you should be very angry, never hear lawyers getting upset about ruined members of the public.
Blame them not us: Legal Aid Board accuse Law Society over poor regulation of dodgy Legal Aid lawyers.
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Poor investigation, ha ha, they mean no regulation, crooked lawyers are not regulated they are rewarded. If a lawyer is struck off the Law Society lose money because they lawyer does not need a practicing certificate so there is one Law Society conflict of interest for a start and there will be many more.
No complaints system is the reason 'Lawyers behave badly'. They know they are never regulated.
That lawyer Andrew Penman in Kelso must be on the mind of a few bent lawyers this week!
What a revelation the BBC's programme about lawyers behaving badly, which could have easily been titled, 'Law Society of Scotland and the SSDT Defeating The Ends of Justice'?
My goodness, three Professors of Law, who are experts in their fields of Regulation and Ethics and a Senior QC, describing the present situation of NON-Regulation of Scotiish crooked lawyers as Bizarre and incredible?
I wonder if the Police have been allowed to trot along to Drumsheugh Gardens yet to go through the Law Society of Scotland's files to expose the serious level of corruption?
If the Crown Office refuse to allow the Police to investigate such serious incidents of fraud, cover-up and collusion to pervert the course of justice then there may also follow swift resignations at the Crown Office and at Ministerial level?
The genie is out of the bottle. We have criminals protecting criminals from jail and the word on the street is that this courageous BBC exposé of criminality may just be the start of things to come for the whole Justice System?
The SSDT Chairman, the author of the description of 'Borrowers Without Consent' in his yearly Report 2010, caused the three experts in the film to be just astonished at what is being allowed to be perpetrated against victims of rotten Scottish lawyers?
The SSDT findings are there for anyone to see and read and shows the unbelievable behaviour towards known crooks and I am sure the Police will be making their moves shortly?
The fact that criminals have been protecting criminals for many years must now be investigated thoroughly and can only be done properly with a Public Inquiry?
If so, we may get justice in Scotland yet?
The SSDT and the SLCC must surely now be SHUT DOWN, so no further damage can be meted out to victims of nasty lawyers and their records thoroughly examined so that we can find out the scale of this corruption?
The SSDT and SLCC are paying the price for not being Independent of the Law Society of Scotland?
Where was the Chief Executive of the Law Society of Scotland & the Law Society's Director of Regulation. Why did they not appear in front of the BBC camera's to face the music, when the BBC visited their offices?
We're they hiding in a cupboard or still sticking to the well used false propaganda that, 'Everything the Society does is done properly'?
What a bunch of Sheisters?
Anonymous said...
Anonymous said...
You have made some of my office colleagues very angry today
16 January 2014 13:15
Poor you!Off to ruin some other client now are you?
16 January 2014 20:32
++++++++++++++++¥+
Given the serious implications of the BBC's fantastic investigation, would Scottish lawyers not be better to divert their anger towards their own Organisation, the Law Society of Scotland, since it is the people they have elected to run this organisation who have been rightly exposed for subverting the law of the land?
The Law Society of Scotland is a disreputable and corrupt institution and it's cancerous ways have also resulted in the downfall of their SSDT and the SLCC?
The Scottish Public have known for some time that there has been vaguely disguised collusion between the Law Society of Scotland and the SSDT & SLCC and that known criminals have been let off SCOT FREE for years?
They are all scrambling for cover - like rats in a sewer!
I think this must be a 'first' for the BBC - a programme that does not ooze smarm and deference to members of the legal fraternity.
Compared with your reporting the Beeb has a lot of catching up to do.
As far as Blame is concerned, all arrows point towards the Law Society and whoever is in charge of the regulation of their lawyers.
I am pretty sure that the Law Society's sacrificial lamb spokesperson wasn't telling the truth?
Professor Black - Professor of Law - Sunday Mail article
Julian Webb - Professor of Law
Andy Boon - Professor of Law
And Eminent QC - Andrew Hopper
All appearing on behalf of the BBC who were exasperated as to the apparent corruption going on within the Law Society of Scotland and the SSDT?
Their qualified judgement now means that the SSDT is effectively shut down and leaves the Law Society of Scotland to answer some serious questions only a Public Inquiry can make them answer to?
I cannot bare this unlawfulness anymore.
I am going to emigrate.
The Law Society have some explaining to do..
Rumour is there is a complaint in at the SLCC about Andrew Penman and the Law Society are going all out to keep it quiet in case you or the papers get wind of it
Anonymous said...
Rumour is there is a complaint in at the SLCC about Andrew Penman and the Law Society are going all out to keep it quiet in case you or the papers get wind of it
20 January 2014 13:59
££££££££££££££££££
The SLCC will simply refuse the complaint at the Gateway Stage giving a false legal reasoning to try to make sure the Client does not insist on their complaint being investigated as valid?
Even if it did get past this 'Sifting Process' the Law Society Investigators will be warned at the risk of losing their jobs that they have to block this valid complaint at all costs?
@ 20 January 2014 13:59
If you have any information on this matter please email scottishlawreporters@gmail.com
It's a stinking snake pit of vipers
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