Wednesday, December 24, 2014

A FINE MESS: Complaints cost Scottish lawyers £1K a day in £365K ‘anonymous’ fines & compensation as regulator refuses to identify rogue solicitors & law firms

Fined by them & do it again – regulator fails to name rogue lawyers. THE CHANCES are – if you have ever been fined in a Scottish court – your identity, address, picture, date of birth, much of your life – private, criminal, or otherwise, and even perhaps a strand of your DNA will make it to a Crown Office Press Release to boost their ‘seasonally adjusted’ conviction rates.

However, if you are a member of the Law Society of Scotland, fear not. For solicitors who end up facing fines, compensation orders and fee reductions ordered by Scotland’s ‘independent’ regulator of complaints about lawyers - the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) – not one rogue solicitor or law firm fined by the SLCC has been named in the past six years since it began investigating complaints in 2008. Not one.

In fact, you stand a better chance of finding out if there is a re-housed spy, mafia supergrass or a serial abuser - living in a safe house in your neighbourhood - than you do finding out the name of a lawyer fined by the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission for ripping off other clients.

This year, the SLCC 2014 Annual Report chose to highlight awards of a ‘whopping’ £365,000 in compensation & fee reductions for clients of dodgy Scottish solicitors – yet, again, not one solicitor fined in connection with a complaint - is named.

The rising fee reductions & compensation orders are good, but the lack of names are not. The suspicions are -  the numbers of ‘repeat offenders’ – lawyers who end up being fined for the same thing, the same complaints, over & over - are starting to mount.

But, let’s put this £365,000 gained for ‘complainers’ by the SLCC into a little more perspective.

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission was created in 2008 with over £2million of public cash from the Scottish Government. £2 million of yours - in their tummy. Nice – for them.

And, SLCC board members make tidy expenses claims of £150K or more each year since 2008. Nice again – for them. Get the picture? Right. It’s a quango. With lots of money – Your money.

Since 2008, the SLCC has cost around £2.7m - £3million a year to run. Making a total cost of operating the SLCC since 2008 now at around £20million – including that £2million public cash splurge from the Scottish Government.

And - where does this £3million annual complaints levy come from ? It comes from a complaints levy paid by solicitors- who – naturally - recover the money via hikes in client fees.

That’s right. You pay for the SLCC. And, you pay a lot for the SLCC.

You pay so much, some clients have found their legal fees doubled, trebled, even quadrupled to pay for the SLCC.

The complaints levy is only £324 or so a year – however, it is well known in the profession many solicitors recover the levy at least twice, three times or more – per client - from you.

£324 … the price of a half decent widescreen telly …easy to slip that one into your legal bill, and again, and again, and again.

And, there is another problem. A bigger problem. Did you guess correctly ?

Shocker – Rogue solicitors who are found out and told by the SLCC to reduce fees or pay compensation – are recovering their losses by overcharging legal fees to other clients. Now that’s what anyone might call a racket.

There is no escaping a fact - the legislation which created the SLCC - the Legal Profession & Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 2007 - created a multi million pound money monster - much worse than any honey monster.

And what success stories do the SLCC have to tell us about in their annual report. Very few. Actually, hardly any. For fear of identifying someone no doubt.

And what failures do the SLCC have to tell us about in their annual report. None. A little here and there, a reach out to advocates, a tinkering with the edges – otherwise known as “window dressing”.

But, most importantly – not one rogue lawyer or law firm named or shamed since 2008. Imagine that. Around one thousand complaints a year, every year, for six years, and not one lawyer named. Amazing. How did that happen ?

If the Police on £1.2billion a year, or the Lord Advocate & Crown Office on £107million a year stuck to those rules, there would never be any convictions, no one would ever know who was a criminal, and Bambi would wake you up in the morning, accompanied by Thumper the bunny.

So here we have a quandary - from the regulator that once dished out the price of a fish supper as compensation to one victim, to this year’s claim of £365K in compensation & fee reductions, not one corrupt solicitor or law firm who ripped off a client in the past six years has ever been identified.

So, you know what that means, right?

Your own solicitor – yes, that trusty, honest lawyer you handed over all your legal affairs to – may have already been fined by the SLCC for ripping off another client for the very same task you are asking them to perform, at an impending huge cost to yourself.

Your lawyer might actually be under investigation by the SLCC at the very same time you are in their office chatting away about your case - and, you don't even know it. And you will never know it. Never. Not as long as a lawyer can move a monkey puzzle tree around a garden and get someone else to pay for it.

Your solicitor is not required to admit anything to you about their complaints history, and the ‘independent’ SLCC certainly wont tell you – they have rules they must keep all complaints confidential, and cannot dare tell the public the name of serial rogue lawyers for fear of having the entire weight of Scotland’s £1 billion pound publicly subsidised legal profession sit on it’s head. Lawyers, saw to that.

The SLCC does have its fans, of course. Lawyers. Lawyers love the SLCC. Why wouldn’t they? It’s the Law Society in disguise.

Even lawyers who pose as [now sacked] Scottish Ministers - loved the SLCC so much, they appeared at the Scottish Parliament - claiming they were reforming the ‘independent’ Scottish Legal Complaints Commission – by giving corrupt lawyers the right to complain about complaints. Only in Scotland.

Here’s former Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill giving his take on the SLCC’s form of regulation and his take on the definition of a ‘reform’. It’s great. Well, not really.

Kenny MacAskill evidence to Justice Committee Scottish Parliament 5th August 2014 SLCC Rules change

Although the now sacked Mr MacAskill - argued a range of consumer groups took part in the modification of the SLCC’s rules, suspiciously, none showed up at Holyrood to back him up. Neither were they called to appear before MSPs and face some questions.

Scotland’s top judge, who must also approve any changes to the legislation which governs the SLCC, also did not appear at the Justice Committee. By watching the video clip - you can see why no one else showed up. Anyway, who exactly speaks up for lawyers and sings their praises in public? That’s right – more lawyers.

As for those ‘reforms’, legal observers expect little change to the current way in which a mainly lawyer orientated regulator investigates complaints against other lawyers.

And, how independent or impartial is the SLCC? Well, in a previous investigation by Diary of Injustice - it was revealed much of the SLCC’s staff are qualified solicitors or have served at the Law Society of Scotland.

The SLCC disclosed material via Freedom of Information legislation indicating:  15 members of staff qualified as solicitors, 5 members of staff held a previous position at the Law Society of Scotland, 8 members of staff held a previous position at a law firm and 5 members of staff have held previous positions at a law firm and Law Society of Scotland.

Admit it, people - You just cant get more pro-lawyer than that.

Oh yes … Season’s Greetings from Diary of Injustice. And - Do yourself a favour in 2015 – Look after your own instead of looking after a lawyer. Your family, your pets, along with Bambi  and Thumper will thank you all the more for it.

20 comments:

  1. lol and how true!
    Happy Christmas DOI and thanks for another year of legal truth!

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  2. This latest SLCC Annual Report is a complete fiction.

    There is nothing reported on how the SLCC are in cahoots with the Law Society of Scotland and will lie, cheat and break the law at the Law Society of Scotland's Instruction?

    The whole organisation is a scam and they are laughing at the Scottish Public, whilst letting known crooks get away with it?

    The number of people who read their report could be counted on one hand, which is the same number of people who believe that it is a bona fide organisation and not a Law Society of Scotland inveigling tool?

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  3. Typical 'jobs for the boys (and girls)' scheme one can find in any 'Banana Republic'.

    I seem to recall that there was a site naming and shaming solicitors in England & Wales which was closed down by the Courts, and have found this one below which appears to have taken the job on since;

    http://www.solicitorsfromhelluk.com/index.php/list-all-leo-decisions

    I wouldn't be surprised if the regulator in England does name solicitors found guilty of misconduct, just one more area where our 'Victorian legal system' would be lagging seriously behind.

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  4. It would be really interesting for them to reveal how much of this £365000 is an Insured loss and is paid out by the Law Society of Scotland's Block Insurance Policy, meaning they are getting rid of all of these victim's complaints on the cheap, rather than the old system where they used their Pursuers Panel of cherry-picked Law Society of Scotland friends?

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  5. Does the Law Society of Scotland pay these dodgy lawyer's SLCC fines and costs, like how they paid their dodgy lawyer's fines and costs handed out by the SSDT, so as to allow their dodgy lawyers to continue as if no sanctions and no punishment had been found against them, so that they continue double & treble billing their victims as normal?

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  6. It figures lawyers who are having to pay compensation to their victims will find some other victim to rip off and claw it back.
    This slcc is a real Scottish style mess!

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  7. MacAskill is quite correct when he states that the complaints procedure works very smoothly, it works extremely well for lawyers A booklet I picked up at my local sporting club gave a very clear indication to what actually happens when a very serious complaint about two solicitors colluding in a court case and the effort made to make sure it was suppressed it detailed very clearly letters and e-mails from solicitors MP's MSP's 2 Lord Advocates a secretary of State 2 Troubleshooters and 7 letters from the police ranging from sergeant to Chief Constable and the transcript from a Radio Scotland phone-in to a Professor of Law it was available at my club FOC.Well worth a read







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  8. MacAskill for Christmas ho ho ho anyway thanks for giving the slcc a good kicking,they deserve it and they are just as bad as the Law Society in protecting lawyers.

    Full marks to you and Merry Christmas!

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  9. They rob clients and them protect the ones that do the robbing. What is new.

    Merry Christmas to all readers and the DOI team.

    PS. Santa told me there is no complaints system, he is right.

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  10. "Oh yes … Season’s Greetings from Diary of Injustice. And - Do yourself a favour in 2015 – Look after your own instead of looking after a lawyer. Your family, your pets, along with Bambi and Thumper will thank you all the more for it."

    BEST ADVICE EVER :D

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  11. got bored with xmas so came back to read ur blog!much more fun!

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  12. Anonymous said...
    MacAskill for Christmas ho ho ho anyway thanks for giving the slcc a good kicking,they deserve it and they are just as bad as the Law Society in protecting lawyers.

    Full marks to you and Merry Christmas!

    24 December 2014 at 15:55
    000000000000000000000000
    *********+++++*********++++++****

    The SLCC is the Law Society of Scotland!

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  13. Nice touch the slcc filling all their jobs with law society workers and lawyers!How did they manage to get away with that one?

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  14. The SLCC has been outed as a Sham Organisation, who's job it is to do exactly what the Law Society of Scotland order them to do?

    It is a discredited and unlawful entity, designed to try to trick the Scottish People into thinking that effective change for the better has been brought it, when the reality is that the Law Society of Scotland have a tighter than ever grip over letting their member Scottish lawyers off Scot Free at every opportunity?

    The SLCC are a propaganda tool run by the Law Society of Scotland for the Law Society of Scotland, so that they can both collude to defeat the ends of justice to let known crooked lawyers get away with it?

    If you are crazy enough to report your crooked Scottish lawyer to the SLCC, then you deserve the inevitable end result?

    A soft sanction?

    If the SLCC have involved themselves in getting victims of Scottish lawyers £365,000 pounds of their money back then just imagine how much cash has really been stolen, not to mention the lives that have been ruined by these Scottish Prostitutes in suits?

    A. £3.65 Million?

    B £36.5 Million?

    C. £365 Million?

    These are the real statistics we need?



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  15. http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/adele-barlow/law-career-happiness_b_6376364.html?utm_hp_ref=uk

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  16. The problem with self regulation is that it requires an unbiased approach to complaints and that is why there is no complaints system. The paradox is that lawyers believe there is a complaints system and it is not biased. Those who receive complaints are the least fit to be in charge of them.

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  17. Let me add my thanks to that of others for DOI's tireless investigative reporting which puts many of the mainstream media to shame.

    I recall that DOI reported earlier on the damning evidence given to the Justice Committee by the last Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman, Linda Costelloe-Baker, on the bill which created the SLCC at;

    http://petercherbi.wordpress.com/2007/10/03/last-words-from-former-scottish-legal-services-ombudsman-condemn-the-scottish-legal-profession/

    Of course like Moi ALi, Ms. Baker was diligent and good at her job - so she had to go....as reported by DOI at;

    http://petercherbi.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/resignation-of-linda-costelloe-baker.html

    The Scottish Public is left to suffer the resulting legal mess which serves only the vested interests of the Law Society of Scotland and its notorious insurance provider Marsh.

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  18. Anonymous said...
    Let me add my thanks to that of others for DOI's tireless investigative reporting which puts many of the mainstream media to shame.

    I recall that DOI reported earlier on the damning evidence given to the Justice Committee by the last Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman, Linda Costelloe-Baker, on the bill which created the SLCC at;

    http://petercherbi.wordpress.com/2007/10/03/last-words-from-former-scottish-legal-services-ombudsman-condemn-the-scottish-legal-profession/

    Of course like Moi ALi, Ms. Baker was diligent and good at her job - so she had to go....as reported by DOI at;

    http://petercherbi.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/resignation-of-linda-costelloe-baker.html

    The Scottish Public is left to suffer the resulting legal mess which serves only the vested interests of the Law Society of Scotland and its notorious insurance provider Marsh.

    27 December 2014 at 10:18
    ££££££££££££££££££££££££££

    Whereupon we discover the inescapable truth......that the Law Society of Scotland have retained power to corrupt in their own interest and that they continue to wield this corrupt power base behind the so-called apparent respectability and transparency of the SLCC?

    In other words, there is no real transparency......the SLCC is just a fiction pretending to be bona fide organisation but the truth be told they are doing exactly what they were designed for.....to do the Law Society of Scotland's evil bidding and allow the Law Society of Scotland to defeat the ends of justice with impunity, from the safety of the shadows where no one will notice them?

    The only trouble with that Machiavellian plan is that their cover is now blown and everyone knows that the SLCC is the Law Society of Scotland?

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  19. It is about time the SLCC Chief Executive is challenged to take a Polygraph Test, carried out by a trained law enforcement practitioner, to expose that the SLCC has involved itself in criminality by colluding with the Law Society of Scotland to defeat the ends of justice against the Scottish People?

    Maybe the police would be interested too?

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  20. Yes we recover the compensation!

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