tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post722921542996502506..comments2024-03-24T23:01:57.640+00:00Comments on The Justice Diaries: LEGAL PAID : Clients of legal aid lawyers should come forward with information on fake work claims & scams, say Scottish Legal Aid BoardUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-30398684363218439612011-05-30T22:03:13.682+01:002011-05-30T22:03:13.682+01:00My lawyer was fiddling legal aid and I tried to re...My lawyer was fiddling legal aid and I tried to report it to the legal aid board and they didnt want to know about it.<br /><br /><br />What do I do?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-18549535600966748032011-05-17T11:24:27.572+01:002011-05-17T11:24:27.572+01:00No doubt about it you are causing problems misterNo doubt about it you are causing problems misterAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-3040481478507259772011-05-16T22:18:11.686+01:002011-05-16T22:18:11.686+01:00Corruption nothing more nothing lessCorruption nothing more nothing lessAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-22854071690450762102011-05-16T20:46:36.219+01:002011-05-16T20:46:36.219+01:00So someone listening in recorded a convo and passe...So someone listening in recorded a convo and passed it onto some bent lawyer who is probably fiddling legal aid and then the board wonder why they dont get any reaction from the Law Society?<br />SLAB must be riddled with informants no wonder LSoS can take 4 years to investigate and do nothing because they always knew which way it was going to go!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-89221485017396304772011-05-16T19:21:47.155+01:002011-05-16T19:21:47.155+01:00# Anonymous @ 14 May 2011 17:40
Remember to sprea...# Anonymous @ 14 May 2011 17:40<br /><br />Remember to spread the advice on recordings around ... it may help others.<br /><br /># Anonymous @ 16 May 2011 01:05<br /><br />I can assure you the legal profession in Scotland are as good at issuing personal threats as some gangsters recently referred to in the media ...<br /><br /># Anonymous @ 16 May 2011 15:59<br /><br />I'm all for an investigation although the words "investigation" & "independent inquiry" mean very little in the Scottish legal system .. something more of a joke really, normally used to cover up an offence, negligence, or even corruption.<br /><br />What I can say with regard to one of the recordings I have been informed of (although do not possess) is one of the audio files appears to have been recorded on a device while the conversation was being played back on another device. The file was then allegedly given to a solicitor who is/was facing complaints against his legal aid claims.<br /><br />I think whoever has access to these recordings in the first place may require investigating themselves ... as clearly all kinds of Data Protection laws have been broken .. probably a few more too ...Diary of Injusticehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00697476580161690118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-77724043242357780742011-05-16T15:59:48.911+01:002011-05-16T15:59:48.911+01:00You have raised another issue worthy of investigat...You have raised another issue worthy of investigation.<br />If recordings of calls to SLAB are being handed over to solicitors who are also the subject of complaints there is something very wrong with that.Almost criminal I feel.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-87939933068072060232011-05-16T01:05:47.043+01:002011-05-16T01:05:47.043+01:00be careful kid you are writing about stuff some la...be careful kid you are writing about stuff some lawyers will kill to protect especially with all the $$$ legal aid bills<br /><br />you should be in a newspaper if you ever get the chance take it and bury them on the front pageAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-34366691832294968082011-05-14T17:40:40.016+01:002011-05-14T17:40:40.016+01:00Yes good advice Peter about the recording these me...Yes good advice Peter about the recording these meetings/calls with lawyers or whoever.Chances are they tape us anyway so I'll be doing the same next time I encounter one of the bastards!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-7092913395978591682011-05-14T15:56:25.662+01:002011-05-14T15:56:25.662+01:00# Anonymous @ 13 May 2011 19:17
Yes you can conta...# Anonymous @ 13 May 2011 19:17<br /><br />Yes you can contact me via scottishlawreporters.<br /><br />If there are recordings of court officials interfering in a case and telling someone not to turn up when they should for a hearing I'd say its a story worthy of a few headlines, particularly considering the way people are treated these days all across Scotland's court system ...<br /><br />On another matter, I have noted the loss of several comments due to the Blogger outage, particularly a piece of advice for consumers who are dealing with the Scottish Legal Aid Board.<br /><br />The advice to callers would be to record their own telephone conversations or meetings with anyone connected with the legal system in Scotland, be it solicitors, the SLCC, the Law Society, the Courts Service or even the Scottish Legal Aid Board. <br /><br />Inevitably, when there's an issue, dispute or problem with what was actually said in the call or at the meeting, whether it be your instructions to your solicitor or some point they have twisted in their favour, you, the client, must retain a verbatim record of events as the inevitable record of the solicitor, or whoever was involved will be highly inaccurate and biased in their favour. If you dont, then out of experience myself, I can safely say their version is always believed, until of course, audio or even video recordings surface telling the other side of the story ...Diary of Injusticehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00697476580161690118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-84845179538380720392011-05-13T19:17:31.777+01:002011-05-13T19:17:31.777+01:00Hi Mr Cherbi, you contacted a friend of mine brief...Hi Mr Cherbi, you contacted a friend of mine briefly in the past when his details were leaked out into the public domain and although he made no comment to you you managed to write partly about his situation where his former lawyer is trying to extort money from him using the local court as a lever. What you dont know Mr Cherbi is that the clerks within the court have been actively trying to make him default by withholding information, misplacing files and telling him not to turn up to court and then using it against him by marking him down as absent on the day. The thing is he has the sheriffs note which uses these findings against him but he also has all the phone calls of the clerks recorded as proof that they have set him up. An appeal hearing has been set for this summer, after which you can have everything.<br /><br />I take it we can contact you on scottishlawreporters@gmail.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-39322249437853163452011-05-12T12:46:21.615+01:002011-05-12T12:46:21.615+01:00"My advice to callers would be to record thei..."My advice to callers would be to record their own telephone conversations or even meetings with people from legal system ... that way when there's an issue with what was actually said in the call or at the meeting, you have a verbatim record, rather than having to put up with others believing their rather skewed version of events"<br /><br />Good advice for whoever you are dealing with these days.Remember Peter if you call up your insurance company they even record it,local council/police/doctor/even supermarkets so just as its good for them to record us we should be recording them too.Only a dumb idiot wouldnt!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-12979322689123234572011-05-12T11:56:23.673+01:002011-05-12T11:56:23.673+01:00Even after all this SLAB haven't bothered appr...Even after all this SLAB haven't bothered approaching Lockhart's clients.What does that tell you about the Scottish Legal Aid Board ?<br /><br />Can you imagine what it would be like if the Police didn't go out and interview witnesses for a murder ?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-82590338238601671312011-05-12T01:36:43.172+01:002011-05-12T01:36:43.172+01:00Slab said Lockhart's tricks were "not app...Slab said Lockhart's tricks were "not appropriate to a competent and reputable solicitor" - but the 60-year-old continues to run his one-man firm in Kilmarnock.<br />--------------------------------<br />Wake up SLAB, there are no competent and reputable solicitors, they are all competent rogues, thiefs and legally protected criminals.<br /><br />Only the unwary trust one of these scumbags these days.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-71914538713193966632011-05-12T01:32:59.995+01:002011-05-12T01:32:59.995+01:00There is no point in complaining to the SLAB. Anyt...There is no point in complaining to the SLAB. Anything to do with lawyers is corrupt, and self regulation is the reason for the corruption.Lawyers are above the lawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-34654385179502022452011-05-12T01:17:16.127+01:002011-05-12T01:17:16.127+01:00If we were independent, you can kiss goodbye to th...If we were independent, you can kiss goodbye to the Supreme Court in London. If not immediately, certainly when it issues another controversial ruling requiring Justice-Secretary-for-Life Kenny MacAskill to change the law. You might also kiss goodbye to certain parts or maybe all of European Commission Human Rights Legislation (ECHR) which any future independent Scottish Government may begin to find 'inconvenient' to its management, or as we have seen in the past four years, lack of management of Scotland's justice system.<br />==================================<br />Where are the checks and balances now Peter? SNP committees and an SNP Presiding Officer. The stage is set.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-77756048802260227082011-05-11T23:57:27.154+01:002011-05-11T23:57:27.154+01:00Thanks for all your comments & emails on this ...Thanks for all your comments & emails on this article and especially to those who have already sent me details of their legal aid problems.<br /><br />Could I just say if there are documents you wish to send me concerning problems with the Scottish Legal Aid Board or your solicitor, you can send them to me via scottishlawreporters@gmail.com . Any information will be treated in confidence unless senders wish the information to be published by saying so.<br /><br /># Anonymous @ 11 May 2011 17:42<br /><br />In light of what you say, yes, please send me the letter and any information you feel should be published.<br /><br /># Anonymous @ 11 May 2011 10:36<br /><br />Thanks for your comment ...<br /><br />I can confirm the telephone recording at the Scottish Legal Aid Board to be correct, although there is a message on their phone system warning callers "calls may be recorded for training purposes ...etc"<br /><br />My advice to callers would be to record their own telephone conversations or even meetings with people from legal system ... that way when there's an issue with what was actually said in the call or at the meeting, you have a verbatim record, rather than having to put up with others believing their rather skewed version of events ...Diary of Injusticehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00697476580161690118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-13420733424775295732011-05-11T19:54:44.018+01:002011-05-11T19:54:44.018+01:00yet look at the easy legal aid this guy is getting...yet look at the easy legal aid this guy is getting!<br />http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2011/05/11/legal-aid-shocker-as-rich-glasgow-businessman-gets-s250k-to-help-fight-proceeds-of-crime-case-86908-23122778/<br /><br />Legal aid shocker as rich Glasgow businessman gets £250K to help fight Proceeds of Crime case<br /><br />May 11 2011 By Keith McLeod<br /><br />A BID to use the Proceeds of Crime Act to recover cash allegedly earned through extortion has cost the taxpayer more than £250,000.<br /><br />Rich Glasgow businessman Russell Stirton has received £251,985.09 in legal aid as he defends himself in a two-year long civil action at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.<br /><br />Stirton and business associate Alexander Anderson have never faced criminal charges over claims that their wealth was earned illegally.<br /><br />The Crown used the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to raise a civil action to force the men to prove s2million worth of assets was earned legally.<br /><br />Part of the alleged extortion totals £760,000 from one taxi firm in Glasgow.<br /><br />The case - the longest of its kind to be heard in a Scottish court - resumed yesterday after a two-month break.<br /><br />It is claimed, but not confirmed, that the men have been able to draw £10,000 in expenses each month from their seized assets.<br /><br />As the legal process dragged on and the frozen assets were used up, the Crown offered to settle for s1million, reducing that figure in stages to £200,000, and amounting to a total less than four per cent of the sum originally frozen.<br /><br />It was in January 2004 that Stirton, 37, and Anderson were the subject of a police raid. Their homes, cars, businesses and bank accounts were placed under a restraining order, effectively freezing their assets.<br /><br />Police believed a service station run by the pair in Springburn, Glasgow, was a money-laundering front but a probe failed to prove this.<br /><br />The civil case began on May 19, 2009, at the Court of Session and because of its length it has prompted fears that the cost to the public purse will exceed the value of assets frozen.<br /><br />Income from seized assets for the purpose of living expenses cannot be used to fund legal proceedings.<br /><br />The Scottish Legal Aid Board have revealed that ex-paratrooper Stirton has received legal aid totalling £251,985.09 since July 2010.<br /><br />Slab said these payments were "interim" claims from Stirton's legal representatives and that final accounts were still to be submitted. Anderson hasn't received legal aid.<br /><br />Stirton and Anderson deny allegations that between 1993 and 2005 they received income and acquired assets with funds for which there was no legitimate source.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-74066556495872726652011-05-11T17:42:39.336+01:002011-05-11T17:42:39.336+01:00Just to let you know Mr Cherbi I've spent 9 mo...Just to let you know Mr Cherbi I've spent 9 months with these legal aid THUGS trying to get funding for my case against a solicitor and all I got was stalling and refusals then my own solicitor dropped me after being told to by the Law Society and I have the letter if you want itAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-71095627114723097222011-05-11T10:36:37.502+01:002011-05-11T10:36:37.502+01:00Whatever you do DO NOT phone the Scottish Legal Ai...Whatever you do DO NOT phone the Scottish Legal Aid Board.<br />They record your telephone calls and pass them onto your lawyer if you tell them anything bad.Tell Peter instead and get it in a newspaper its the only way to expose these LEGAL AID ROBBING LAWYERSAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-20330969481902344952011-05-10T15:43:21.105+01:002011-05-10T15:43:21.105+01:00I went through 4 refusals for legal aid before I e...I went through 4 refusals for legal aid before I eventually got it and the problem was the lawyer for the other side lying through his teeth to the legal aid board and they believed him you should do a story on this if i can send it to youAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-82082230889440961812011-05-10T13:14:05.783+01:002011-05-10T13:14:05.783+01:00Yes Peter its about time you started investigating...Yes Peter its about time you started investigating legal aid a lot more than you have in the past.They are completely out of control when lawyers get away with stuff like this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-30690226231196467162011-05-10T11:18:01.693+01:002011-05-10T11:18:01.693+01:00Anonymous said...
Forget it SLAB I'd rath...Anonymous said...<br /><br /> Forget it SLAB I'd rather report them to Peter because when he gets the story something actually gets done about it!<br /><br /> 9 May 2011 15:08<br /><br />+1 !Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-84862144825663361162011-05-10T01:00:17.572+01:002011-05-10T01:00:17.572+01:00Anonymous said...
Forget it SLAB I'd rather r...Anonymous said...<br /><br />Forget it SLAB I'd rather report them to Peter because when he gets the story something actually gets done about it!<br /><br /><br />100% correct, bypass the structures of the state, only a campaigner will deal with these issues correctly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-49721386631567510872011-05-10T00:20:19.908+01:002011-05-10T00:20:19.908+01:00If they dont comment on their own boss getting cau...If they dont comment on their own boss getting caught in a toilet with some rent boy they cant be expected to comment on lawyers who are clearly fleecing the taxpayer via legal aid payments!<br /><br />Its all a bit dirty though dont you think ? I know its old fashioned to talk about morals or standards these days but what the hell is going on if the legal aid regulator is acting like this along with its own people ?<br /><br />Is this what Scottish justice is really all about ?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-43714685701876649342011-05-10T00:07:48.088+01:002011-05-10T00:07:48.088+01:00Well let me just congratulate you on your blog and...Well let me just congratulate you on your blog and all these exposures of our crooked legal system.The lawyers will hate you for it but lets face it the system must be crooked otherwise you would not be able to write as you do.<br />Keep up the good work Peter!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com