Monday, February 04, 2013

SWINDLE SOCIETY : Profits dive at troubled Scots law firms while legal aid fraud, client rip-offs, solicitors negligence, dishonesty & complaints increase sharply

Law Society of ScotlandScots law firms feel the financial squeeze while clients feel the effects of rising fees, rip offs & legal aid swindles. TIMES ARE TOUGH as we all know, but many clients will feel it hard to shed a tear over recent news from the Law Society of Scotland announcing that Scottish solicitors are apparently earning less cash for their greedy partners as profits take another dive at Scots law firms. Should ordinary Scots feel sorry for a profession which writes its own rules, charges what it likes, has talked up and abused the housing market to the point of making homes unaffordable for many, has ruined families for their own financial benefit and even stolen from the dead ? Hardly.

The Law Society of Scotland reported in a recent Press Release : Drop in profits shows market still tough for Scots law firms that trading conditions remain tough for solicitors' firms, despite an increase shown in profits for sole practitioners and larger firms, according to a survey commissioned by the Law Society of Scotland. The Law Society's Cost of Time survey for 2012, based on the results of 244 participating firms, showed an overall drop in profits per partner levels which are now on a par with those of 2010, with cash flow issues proving to be a particular problem for solicitors.

However, while lawyers profits may be down, complaints made by clients, legal aid swindles, theft, dishonesty, embezzlement. negligence and client rip-offs are unsurprisingly all on the rise as Scottish solicitors follow tried & tested methods of extorting every penny from already impoverished clients and even taxpayers & the public purse, as increasing amounts of cash greedy law firms who previously refused to offer legal aid to clients now scramble to sponge off the Scottish Government’s £160 MILLION legal aid budget.

In December 2012, Diary of Injustice reported on the latest annual report from the hapless, anti-client Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC), who were themselves forced to admit that complaints against Scottish solicitors had risen significantly on the previous year at a figure of 16% here : From Bad to Worse : Complaints against lawyers up 16%, few cases upheld, Board members on £20K expenses, reports anti-client Scottish Legal Complaints Commission in 2012 annual report

The Law Society of Scotland’s survey claimed : Median profits for equity partners in Scotland have dropped to £64,000, the same level as two years ago, following an increase in 2011. Partners in medium sized firms have seen the biggest drop, with 2-4 partner firms dropping from £75,000 to £67,000 in 2012 and 5-9 partner firms seeing a £4,000 fall to £76,000 in 2012. However the survey showed an increase of £7,000 to £53,000 on average for sole practitioners and those in 10+ partner firms have seen a rise in their per partner profits from £144,000 to £163,000.

The results illustrate the extent of the difference between the profitability of larger firms with 10 or more equity sharing partners and smaller firms, with larger firms' average profit per equity partner exceeding those at smaller firms by £79,000. Equity partners in a law firm are not paid a salary, and the profits they earn are often used to fund working capital, so the figures have to be interpreted with care. The apparent paper profit is not the same as actual earnings.

The research has also shown a drop in law firms' bank balances in the past year from over £200,000 last year to just over £50,000 this year for 10+ partner firms. 2-4 partner firms have seen their median bank balance fall from £27,000 to £6,000, and 5-9 partner firms have also seen a major fall.

Clearly however, the reduction in law firms' bank balances and lack of cash for partners have made dishonesty, negligence and almost bare faced theft of client funds an even more tantalising way out of many law firms’ financial black holes as clients experience large fee demands for legal services which seem to have no effect on clients legal troubles.

In some cases brought to the attention of Diary of Injustice, some of Edinburgh’s ‘top’ law firms are regularly charging clients well over £150 plus VAT for letters & emails which comprise only a few lines of text and many of which appear to be repeated communications, or in other words, lawyers using both email & written correspondence to inflate fees demanded from clients.

In other cases, clients have been contacted by a solicitor years later, the solicitor claiming fees had not been accurately charged (in once recent case up to £30,000) and were now being demanded within seven days, otherwise the solicitor would apply to have clients sequestrated.

In several such cases currently being monitored by Diary of Injustice, not one of the solicitors or law firms have been able to substantiate work now being claimed for which in certain cases is claimed to date back to 2001. However, as Scotland’s Sheriff courts, the Court of Session and regulators such as the Law Society of Scotland & Scottish Legal Complaints Commission appear unwilling to the point of prejudice to hear out the clients side of the story, there appears to be little help for those who are now being trapped by greedy solicitors effectively demanding money with menaces which clearly are not due.

However, it is not just clients who are feeling ripped off, as figures reveal many law firms are going back to the legal aid register, apparently with intentions to plunder public coffers to make up for shortfalls in business …

The Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) confirmed in a statement published along with in their latest annual report that the number of solicitors and firms registered to provide civil and criminal legal assistance has increased again and is at the highest level for five years. At the end of March 2012 there were 662 firms registered to provide civil legal assistance (36 more than 2009) and 591 firms and 1,431 solicitors registered to provide criminal legal assistance (25 more firms and 75 more solicitors than in 2009)

Sources within the Scottish Government have now told Diary of Injustice the Scottish Legal Aid Board have reason & increasing evidence to suspect that law firms re-entering the Legal Aid register and many currently on its books are submitting increased numbers of false claims for legal aid work on cases which are clearly going nowhere.

Lorna Jack, chief executive of the Law Society of Scotland, who is more used to issuing lavish claims about the size of Scotland’s legal industry, regularly putting out statements claiming a Scotland wide worth of over £1 billion pounds, told the media: "The cost of time survey is a good indicator of the general health of the profession on an annual basis and it's clear that the effects of the recession are not over.We're all well aware of tightening budgets right across the private and public sectors and we are encouraging our members to think very seriously about how they shape their business and look hard at their strengths and weaknesses to make the most of available opportunities.

Ms Jack continued : "The legal services sector is, and will remain, highly competitive. We anticipate the arrival of the first licensed legal services providers in Scotland in the first half of this year and we will undoubtedly see further consolidation. As the legal market continues to change it's vital that our members make sure that they are running a tight ship and take steps to ensure that they are effective business managers as well as excellent solicitors. Our professional practice team at the Society, headed by Coral Riddell, are more than happy to provide information and advice to solicitors who want to discuss best business practice."

While the Law Society of Scotland has plenty of advice for law firms on how to increase their profits, there is precious little advice or help available for clients who are caught in complicated swindles masterminded by their solicitors who operate safe in the knowledge that weak self-regulation will see them escape any punishment or need to pay compensation for their wrongdoing.

However, consumers can help themselves and avoid the rip offs by taking this simple advice : Let’s be honest folks, this recession is a tough one. Save your money. Don't feed the legal profession, feed yourself and your own family, and, if you do have problems with a solicitor, or have been forced to make a complaint about your solicitor, tell someone in the media about it.

58 comments:

Anonymous said...

Liwyers losing money?GREAT NEWS!
No big surprise they are finding other ways to get it as in ripping off clients and legal aid EVEN MORE THAN USUAL!!

Anonymous said...

Cost of time for lawyers going down?Its the clients who should be charging them!

Anonymous said...

Lorna Jack said "we are encouraging our members to think very seriously about how they shape their business and look hard at their strengths and weaknesses to make the most of available opportunities"

Aye right Lorna!

So the advice is Rip off the legal aid board and your clients as much as possible!

Anonymous said...

In other cases, clients have been contacted by a solicitor years later, the solicitor claiming fees had not been accurately charged (in once recent case up to £30,000) and were now being demanded within seven days, otherwise the solicitor would apply to have clients sequestrated.

Should be in the papers along with the Sheriffs/Judges who are granting these absurd sequestrations

Anonymous said...

Legal Aid fraud up!

What a surprise!

How many crooked lawyers will be charged with robbing the taxpayer?

ZERO!

Anonymous said...

Sources within the Scottish Government have now told Diary of Injustice the Scottish Legal Aid Board have reason & increasing evidence to suspect that law firms re-entering the Legal Aid register and many currently on its books are submitting increased numbers of false claims for legal aid work on cases which are clearly going nowhere.
---------------------------------JJudicial gods make and remake their own laws because their chums police each others conduct. The corruption is endemic because there are no checks and balances in this system. They all do what they want because they are a team with an internal complaints system. Its all about money, justice goes to the highest bidder.

Anonymous said...

Profits dive at troubled Scots law firms. Poetic justice.

Anonymous said...

any old bills from my lawyer come in the door they will end up in the bin

Anonymous said...

Yes indeed we are living in a swindle society with lawyers right at the top.
First the banks shaft us then lawyers and judges give the banks the backing to do it then lawyers go around looking for people to sue the banks and claim you will get millions if you join up to their scheme then you end up with bugger all no house and no bank accounts all because the lawyers say so and guess what no one does anything about it and the stupid media have the cheek to have this lot on the tv and newspapers in stories more like advertisements making all kinds of promises never to come true.
It does not surprise me one bit these bloodsuckers are getting into new scams to keep their profits up well done for exposing it all hope you save some people from their claws I wish I knew about your blog years ago would never have gone near any lawyers

Anonymous said...

Legal aid fraud, client rip-offs, solicitors negligence, dishonesty & complaints increase sharply. These crimes are a direct consequence of self regulation and the totally corrupt MSP's who are partners in crime with the judicial mafia.

Anonymous said...

As you reveal all their little schemes/efforts to rip people off you are probably giving these lawyers nightmares!
Well done!

Anonymous said...

Profits dive at troubled Scots law firms. Don't just blame the recession. Blame yourselves lawyers because your victims are warning others you rats cannot keep ruining human beings. Your office doors are entrances to hell.

Anonymous said...

16% rise in complaints at the SLCC?
Maybe the true picture of how the profession deals with its clients is starting to emerge OR the SLCC are being forced to accept more complaints as complaints rather than spending months trying to persuade the complainants to mediate or withdraw their complaint entirely.

Anonymous said...

Personally I am very relaxed about overcharging clients because I know I can get away with it.

Catch me if you can.

Anonymous said...

Legal aid fraud may well be on the rise but you can bet your last penny the Crown Office wont prosecute any lawyers for doing it!

Hmmm maybe one of the reasons they wont prosecute is because the judges in Scotland are so corrupt they wont find their lawyer colleagues guilty of legal aid theft!

Anonymous said...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2273506/Palace-knifeman-wanted-Queen-help-170-000-stolen-property-deal.html#axzz2JvB0u467

The teflon criminals ruin another client.

Anonymous said...

Hi Lorna Jack

Your sums are about as believable as the unemployment figures.You forgot to include all the money stolen from clients in those profit figures for lawyers.

Magnify them by a few hundred grand as well as all the cash emptied into lawyers pockets from fleecing the contents of ruined clients homes in carve up deals with local banks.

Anonymous said...

All lawyers who overcharge clients should be named just the same way as other businesses are exposed for ripping off consumers!

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

Lorna Jack said "we are encouraging our members to think very seriously about how they shape their business and look hard at their strengths and weaknesses to make the most of available opportunities"

Aye right Lorna!

So the advice is Rip off the legal aid board and your clients as much as possible!

4 February 2013 21:57

Sounds more like it!

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

Personally I am very relaxed about overcharging clients because I know I can get away with it.

Catch me if you can.
--------------------------------
What an idiot who is doing the profession no favours. But you hit the nail on the head asshole. Your chums prevent you being caught you criminal.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

Legal aid fraud may well be on the rise but you can bet your last penny the Crown Office wont prosecute any lawyers for doing it!

Hmmm maybe one of the reasons they wont prosecute is because the judges in Scotland are so corrupt they wont find their lawyer colleagues guilty of legal aid theft!

5 February 2013 12:53

Well they all sit down to dinner with each other and are in each other's pockets so bound to be biased for each other in their self protection society

Anonymous said...

Personally I am very relaxed about overcharging clients because I know I can get away with it.

Christ an honest coward of a lawyer.
We know you can get away with it too. That is what the Law Society, SLCC were set up for.

Anonymous said...

The Flaw Society backing swindling lawyers again?
No surprise there!

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

Personally I am very relaxed about overcharging clients because I know I can get away with it.

I would rather do without representation than trust scum like you.

Anonymous said...

Where a Judge unilaterally disregards a medical experts diagnosis, then unless they can substantiate their reason for doing so, they should be held in contempt of court and potentially guilty of a criminal offence?
---------------------------------
You are 100% correct but who will hold said judge in contempt of their court? Lord President Gill? About as much chance of me overcoming gravity. The laws and rules of the state they apply to us, not themselves.

Anonymous said...

SO because they are losing money they are ripping even more people off and getting away with it??
SCUM

Anonymous said...

I like your advice "Save your money. Don't feed the legal profession, feed yourself and your own family, and, if you do have problems with a solicitor, or have been forced to make a complaint about your solicitor, tell someone in the media about it."

If people ignore that one then they deserve to be ripped off.Good work.

Anonymous said...

Anyone throwing money at lawyers just now must be off their heads they are a complete waste of space not worth the effort to meet or talk to.These people will stir up trouble and fights where none exist just to get a profit or to be able to leech off someone.Avoid them at all costs!

Anonymous said...

I realise you may not allow comments to be published if they name solicitors so I am writing this a second time without mentioning names.

I have one of these bills from my solicitor where he said he forgot to charge us for counsels opinion on a land dispute except he forgot to tell us at the time (2003) we had or needed any counsel opinion (the pursuer's case collapsed before it went to court when someone noticed his surveyor's report and titles were fake,he didn't even own the land) and now he refuses to produce a copy of it or name the counsel to back up what he is claiming the fees for.In his latest letter (the fifth asking for £4,600) he has threatened us and writes "Myself and my firm are well known and respected among sheriffs and staff at Edinburgh Sheriff Court and will have no trouble in securing legal remedy to recover my fee note and any additional legal costs".I wrote to the Faculty of Advocates about this and asked them to account for this opinion and who wrote it but they have not replied.I called the Law Society of Scotland about this and they said I cannot make a complaint about it because it is time barred and told me not to approach the SLCC but how can it be time barred when he only started sending us these bills in October last year (2012) and why cant he send me a copy of this counsels opinion he claims he had to pay for even though we have never heard or seen it and there is no mention of it in all the papers I have kept of this case.What can I do about this?Any help or suggestions please.

Diary of Injustice said...

#Anonymous @ 6 February 2013 19:09

Perhaps some media exposure of your solicitor may benefit your case and protect other consumers ...

More details please including copies of any letters from your solicitor to scottishlawreporters@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Yes I like the sound of this advice to publish about these crooked lawyers!

Anonymous said...

"However, while lawyers profits may be down, complaints made by clients, legal aid swindles, theft, dishonesty, embezzlement. negligence and client rip-offs are unsurprisingly all on the rise as Scottish solicitors follow tried & tested methods of extorting every penny from already impoverished clients and even taxpayers & the public purse, as increasing amounts of cash greedy law firms who previously refused to offer legal aid to clients now scramble to sponge off the Scottish Government’s £160 MILLION legal aid budget."

Thus proving they will always find a way to keep money flowing in whether its from ripping off clients or ripping off us taxpayers in a double rip off allowed and supported by politicians who are probably getting legal freebies themselves.

Anonymous said...

and while they rake in all those profits notice Lorna Hack and her mates never give us the real story on cases dragging on for years because lawyers are just out to milk their clients then drop them at the steps of the court

Hopefully 2013 will be another bad year for lawyers profits!

Anonymous said...

Ah yes a very interesting comment earlier.

It seems to be the lawyer is insinuating he will use his links with the sheriffs and court staff to go after this person over a false bill.

This will be happening all over Scotland and the lawyers will be getting preferential treatment from the courts as they keep them in business along with some of those very nasty people who work in them.

Go for it Peter expose the lot!

Anonymous said...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21341766


NHS staff should face prosecution if they are not open and honest about mistakes, according to a public inquiry into failings at Stafford Hospital.

Years of abuse and neglect at the hospital led to the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of patients.

But inquiry chairman, Robert Francis QC, said the failings went right to the top of the health service.
000000000000000000000000000
What about Law Society crime.

Anonymous said...

"Myself and my firm are well known and respected among sheriffs and staff at Edinburgh Sheriff Court and will have no trouble in securing legal remedy [THIS IS THE WAY THEY ALL ACT] to recover my fee note and any additional legal costs".

WHITE COLLAR CRIMINALS WHO KNOW CLIENTS HAVE NO LEGAL REMEDY, BUT YOUR LAWYER IS RIGHT, HIS COURT CHUMS WILL PROTECT HIS INTERESTS. THEY STEAL AND COERCE BECAUSE THEY CAN, [WHO WILL STOP THEM] VICTORIAN DO NOTHING FOR CLIENTS LORD GILL? NOT A CHANCE IN HELL. HATE SAYING THIS BUT THEY HAVE YOU IN A JUDICIAL CHECKMATE. WE KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE. WE HAVE BEEN THERE.

Anonymous said...

Who becomes judge and jury when the legal gangsters are helping themselves?

Well the truth is the very bastards in charge of the law have been using the law to enrich themselves and with little or no regulation, and with juries becoming extinct thanks to their machinations, they are giving themselves carte blanche to thieve with impunity while reading their law to justify theft on the grandest of scales. If you have been one of their many victims you will quickly become aware that their 'LAWS' are nothing to do with JUSTICE [SPOT ON INTERNATIONAL MEN'S ORGANISATION] but a means for the few to live off of the many who have been brainwashed into believing a bunch of legal rats have our best interests at heart. [LEGAL RATS HOW FITTING. THEY GIVE INVOICES FOR WORK THEY HAVE NEVER DONE AND ENFORCE THE CLIENT TO PAY VIA THEIR COURTS. CLIENT CAN NEVER GET ANOTHER LAWYER TO CHALLENGE THEM].

Anonymous said...

6 February 2013 19:09

It sounds like your lawyer has the sheriff and courts staff in his pocket already so give your info to Peter and get it in the press along with the name of this THUG because its possible he is doing/already has done this to others.

Anonymous said...

Interesting.Clearly lawyers are feeling the pinch like all businesses out there however it appears they have a license to steal and get away with it while the rest of us face being banged up in jail if we do the same.Doubtless their friends on the judicial benches will give them the benefit of the doubt every time that is if ever such a case makes it to court..

Anonymous said...

Former director of nursing among 67 medical staff accused of failings in Stafford Hospital scandal who have already been CLEARED of wrongdoing in secret hearings.

Francis Inquiry found 1,200 died unnecessarily between 2005 and 2009

But 29 nurses and 38 doctors accused of wrongdoing face no action.

Complaints they faced will never be made public, GMC and NMC say.

Head of nursing Helen Moss cleared privately last week and is a consultant.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2274935/Former-director-nursing-70-staff-accused-failings-Stafford-Hospital-scandal-CLEARED-wrongdoing-secret-hearings.html#ixzz2KFrgZICX
=================================SSelf regulation in action.

Anonymous said...

I called the Law Society of Scotland [THEY LOVE YOUR LAWYER, HAVE YOU NOT HEARD ABOUT CLIENT SUICIDES YET?] about this and they said I cannot make a complaint [EVEN IF YOU COULD THEY WOULD PROTECT YOUR LAWYER, LIKE PENMANN] about it because it is time barred and told me not to approach the SLCC [ANOTHER BUNCH OF BASTARDS, A WASTE OF MONEY] but how can it be time barred when he only started sending us these bills in October last year (2012).[IT CAN BE BECAUSE THEY HAVE ALL THE POWER, NO LAWYER WILL HELP YOU, WE HAVE BEEN THERE. THEY ARE A MAFIA].
666666666666666666666666666666666
Time barred? Oh no you are solicitor barred my friend, like the rest of us. This is the reason this blog exists.

Anonymous said...

http://atosvictimsgroup.co.uk/2013/02/07/atosdwp-have-driven-people-to-self-harm-themselves-in-dramatic/
================================
Don't trust lawyers either or you may end up deal. Law Society a den of evil.

Anonymous said...

Profits dive at troubled Scots law firms [WONDERFUL MADE MY DAY] while legal aid fraud, client rip-offs, solicitors negligence, dishonesty & complaints increase sharply because they judge their own colleagues.


[STAY AWAY FROM THEM FOLKS, A BAD GROUP OF STATE PROTECTED THIEVES].

Anonymous said...

Yes quite right your advice about not using lawyers.I wised up to them awhile back after witnessing a vehicle accident when a lawyer asked me to tell lies to get a bigger settlement for his client - told him to stuff it and reported it to the cops but he's still working so they didn't do anything obviously.How did Scotland get so bad with lawyers running the system?Terrible really what a shame I always liked Scotland now I have a different view of it after reading how you poor guys are all being treated by these crooked douchebag lawyers.Keep up the fight!

Anonymous said...

SO because they are losing money they are ripping even more people off and getting away with it??
SCUM

Yes indeed, with the full support of the Scottish Solicitors Defence Tribunal SSDT, who call a solicitors theft of clients assets "Borrowing without consent". No wonder they are all white collar criminals with ideology which classes criminal theft as borrowing from clients. Beggars belief.

Anonymous said...

Celebrity lawyer tricked Chris Tarrant and jockey Richard Dunwoody into backing bid for OBE in £2.8m fraud

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2275987/Celebrity-lawyer-tricked-Chris-Tarrant-jockey-Richard-Dunwoody-backing-bid-OBE-2-8m-fraud.html#ixzz2KREAmKm2
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Lawyers are liars.

Anonymous said...

Gill rejects register of interests. He is just a man people, but thinks he is GOD. YOU ARE ACCOUNTABLE TO US GILL, AND PUBLIC MISTRUST CAN ONLY BE EXACERBATED AND YOU MUST HAVE LOTS TO HIDE. NOW WE ALSO KNOW 100% GILL'S CIVIL COURTS REVIEW WAS WORDS FROM A MAN WHO HAS AWESOME POWER WITH NO ACCOUNTABILITY. SECRECY AND CORRUPTION ARE UNIFIED.

Anonymous said...

Gill against scrutiny of his profession. Is he fit for the office he holds? The powerful think no one has any right to question them. But rights cannot be established and protected without questioning them. Your head is in the clouds Gill, you are a man, not an omnipotent deity.

What right does this Brian Gill [one man] have to dictate to the millions of people in Scotland? Because he is powerful does not mean he is right. He is just a man.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Legal aid fraud may well be on the rise but you can bet your last penny the Crown Office wont prosecute any lawyers for doing it!

Hmmm maybe one of the reasons they wont prosecute is because the judges in Scotland are so corrupt they wont find their lawyer colleagues guilty of legal aid theft!

5 February 2013 12:53
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

What chance do we have when at least one Judge has been outed for stealing from the State by fraudulently claiming incapacity benefit?

Or is this another case of BORROWING WITHOUT CONSENT?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Where a Judge unilaterally disregards a medical experts diagnosis, then unless they can substantiate their reason for doing so, they should be held in contempt of court and potentially guilty of a criminal offence?
---------------------------------
You are 100% correct but who will hold said judge in contempt of their court? Lord President Gill? About as much chance of me overcoming gravity. The laws and rules of the state they apply to us, not themselves.

5 February 2013 18:14
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Where the State is shown to be hopelessly corrupt and the levers meant to control the excesses of Scottish lawyers (the SSDT & the SLCC) are also corrupt and we have criminals passing themselves off as Judges and the police are following the orders of a corrupt gang at the Crown Office instead of protecting the Scottish Public, then it is only a matter of time that citizens start to make arrests and to throw these crooks in jail?

Scotland must be the most cynically corrupt small country in the world?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Anyone throwing money at lawyers just now must be off their heads they are a complete waste of space not worth the effort to meet or talk to.These people will stir up trouble and fights where none exist just to get a profit or to be able to leech off someone.Avoid them at all costs!

6 February 2013 15:38
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Things have got so bad, with the standard of Scottish lawyers rapidly descending into the rat infested sewer that clients should maybe pay their Scottish lawyer with handfuls of peanuts?

After all they are nothing but a bunch of maniacally grinning monkeys?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
I realise you may not allow comments to be published if they name solicitors so I am writing this a second time without mentioning names.

I have one of these bills from my solicitor where he said he forgot to charge us for counsels opinion on a land dispute except he forgot to tell us at the time (2003) we had or needed any counsel opinion (the pursuer's case collapsed before it went to court when someone noticed his surveyor's report and titles were fake,he didn't even own the land) and now he refuses to produce a copy of it or name the counsel to back up what he is claiming the fees for.In his latest letter (the fifth asking for £4,600) he has threatened us and writes "Myself and my firm are well known and respected among sheriffs and staff at Edinburgh Sheriff Court and will have no trouble in securing legal remedy to recover my fee note and any additional legal costs".I wrote to the Faculty of Advocates about this and asked them to account for this opinion and who wrote it but they have not replied.I called the Law Society of Scotland about this and they said I cannot make a complaint about it because it is time barred and told me not to approach the SLCC but how can it be time barred when he only started sending us these bills in October last year (2012) and why cant he send me a copy of this counsels opinion he claims he had to pay for even though we have never heard or seen it and there is no mention of it in all the papers I have kept of this case.What can I do about this?Any help or suggestions please.

6 February 2013 19:09
////////////////////////////////////////

Sounds like you have been the victim of one of the many criminal frauds perpetrated each and every day against the clients of Scottish lawyers, aided and abetted by the criminal gang who run the Law Society of Scotland and clearly the courts system too?

You must report this to the police and make sure you get a crime number (not an incident number)?

They cannot refuse to give you a crime number?

But they will try to give you an incident number which means that they are ignoring your complaint?

After reporting this crime to the police you are entitled as a victim to be kept informed of the progress of their investigations into this fraud?

Anonymous said...

The DOI Team are the only organisation which has the confidence of the people in exposing these criminal gangs frauds?

Anonymous said...

Going to a Scottish lawyer may be likened to chopping your own hand off?

Why on earth would you do such a thing because only pain, suffering and distress can come of it.

instead, Scottish lawyers are more like a verruca on the sole of a foot that can't get rid of

Anonymous said...

Oh yes great news indeed but but but as we all know the rats in the legal nest will find other ways to inflate their profits so expect MORE THEFT from clients imminently!

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
16% rise in complaints at the SLCC?
Maybe the true picture of how the profession deals with its clients is starting to emerge OR the SLCC are being forced to accept more complaints as complaints rather than spending months trying to persuade the complainants to mediate or withdraw their complaint entirely.

5 February 2013 11:30
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUK

This is a load of baloney.

This is the last pathetic lie coming out of the SLCC?

The truth is that the number of complaints to the SLCC has fallen-off-the-cliff as it is patently clear that the SLCC is run and operated by the Law Society Of Scotland to protect their kin and to allow them to continue their criminal cash grabbing with impunity against innocent members of the public?

The Public can smell the whiff of shite a mile off and know that they have been tricked by the Law Society of Scotland who insidiously inveigled their way with MSP's to carry off a remarkable fraud against the Scottish People?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
SO because they are losing money they are ripping even more people off and getting away with it??
SCUM

Yes indeed, with the full support of the Scottish Solicitors Defence Tribunal SSDT, who call a solicitors theft of clients assets "Borrowing without consent". No wonder they are all white collar criminals with ideology which classes criminal theft as borrowing from clients. Beggars belief.

9 February 2013 13:16
~<~<~<~<~<~<~<~<~<<~<~<~<

Read it and weep my friend for yourself....

SCOTTISH LAWYERS THEFT FROM THEIR CLIENTS IS CLASSED BY THE SSDT AS BORROWING WITHOUT CONSENT! (Page 7 of the Chairman of the SSDT's Report of 2010)?

http://www.ssdt.org.uk/reports/resources/AnnualReport_Final%20Draft.pdf


And they are so sure that they are above the law that they boldly publish it on their website to further humiliate us plebs?

Anonymous said...

I wonder what the average take home pay would be for a Scottish lawyer if you subtracted all of the massive legal aid fraud money which is 'allowed' to be sifted from the Public Fund in order to pump up their salary?