Dodgy Shyster Solicitors

[Reality Bites]

What now for the legal profession, as another Solicitor today was outed for underhanded practice i.e Mulitiple Mortgages on single properties and the use of Client funds for personal use, It seems to me that Solicitors will become one of the most untrusted professions if crisis continues with more of these cowboys are found out in the near future!

[OneRedArmy]

Self regulation is generally an accident waiting to happen regardless of the profession or industry.

[onceahoop]

The Banks haven't helped the situation with their accetpance of solicitors undertakings. It's just another example of greed taking over. Expect more problems in this area to surface.

[pete]

Self regulation is generally an accident waiting to happen regardless of the profession or industry.

Agree completely. What they have been suspected of if outright fraud & they should be prosecuted in the LAW courts & see jail time if guilty.

[Dodge]

What now for the legal profession, as another Solicitor today was outed for underhanded practice i.e Mulitiple Mortgages on single properties and the use of Client funds for personal use, It seems to me that Solicitors will become one of the most untrusted professions if crisis continues with more of these cowboys are found out in the near future!

Any chance of links? Not that I don't believe you or anything, just wouldn't mind reading about the cases.

Think solicitors live in a world where people are genuinely afraid of the legal system and don't have a clue how it operates so pretty much accept what their solicitor tells them.

[pete]

Banks to share info on solicitor (http://www.rte.ie/business/2007/1025/solicitor.html)

There have been 2 Dublin based solicitors so far. Heard on the news they saying rumoured to be 5 more...

[Reality Bites]

Any chance of links? Not that I don't believe you or anything, just wouldn't mind reading about the cases.

Think solicitors live in a world where people are genuinely afraid of the legal system and don't have a clue how it operates so pretty much accept what their solicitor tells them.

I agree totally, Solicitors are a smug bunch who suffer from the Kings new Clothes syndrome, an absolute disgrace that they pulled the Rate your Solicitor website as it had some great info on some of the the more useless solicitors out there, Solicitors think cause they administer law they are a cut above the proletariat... buy a good law book if you have any dealings in the future with them and question everything you'll see they don't like it!

[kingdom hoop]

Uh-oh, looks like kingdom hoop will have to expedite his journey in joining their ranks to drag the legal profession up off its heels back to its rightful position as the vanguard of all professions. :D

People will always try to get away with what they can. It would be hard to believe, despite what The Law Society might like to think, that upon inauguration into the, ah, revered, profession a person suddenly gets an upgrade in the morality stakes. If or when I go for it I can't imagine I'll stop breaking red lights on my bike or enjoying the odd bit of weed. That's fair enough but the rub lies in the fact that I would never steal off a client in any job, but clearly people like Michael Lynn are gangsters/******* first and foremost and lawyers secondly. What can you do to stop people screwing other people over, or ensuring a chancer never gets to be a lawyer, or a banker, accountant, or priest etc.


It seems to me that Solicitors will become one of the most untrusted professions if crisis continues with more of these cowboys are found out in the near future!

A bit sensationalist I think. This will blow over soon enough, we'll put it down to human error and go back to ****ing things up as before.

[OneRedArmy]

Uh-oh, looks like kingdom hoop will have to expedite his journey in joining their ranks to drag the legal profession up off its heels back to its rightful position as the vanguard of all professions. :D

People will always try to get away with what they can. It would be hard to believe, despite what The Law Society might like to think, that upon inauguration into the, ah, revered, profession a person suddenly gets an upgrade in the morality stakes. If or when I go for it I can't imagine I'll stop breaking red lights on my bike or enjoying the odd bit of weed. That's fair enough but the rub lies in the fact that I would never steal off a client in any job, but clearly people like Michael Lynn are gangsters/******* first and foremost and lawyers secondly. What can you do to stop people screwing other people over, or ensuring a chancer never gets to be a lawyer, or a banker, accountant, or priest etc.



A bit sensationalist I think. This will blow over soon enough, we'll put it down to human error and go back to ****ing things up as before.Thats all true KH but I fear you're missing/ignoring the point.

I believe in both these cases the Law Society were contacted quite a while ago by clients but didn't take action (allegedly, got to be careful when criticising lawyers ;) ). The difference with the other professions is that they are no longer self-regulating. IAASA and Sarbox has increased oversight on accountants, banks haven't self-regulated for a long time and as for priests, well, there is a close eye kept on them.

If the Government has any balls this should be the impetus to take on the Law Society's ridiculous monopoly powers (not least in relation to controlling entry to the profession, which admittedly has nothing really to do with this issue).

[kingdom hoop]

In that case, it was missing/not thinking of that point. :o

Sinfully, as opposed to criminally, I haven't been following the ins and outs of these stories, but if it was a case of the Law Society not acting upon complaints then it could well just have been the human error I parodied in my previous post. At any rate, if the aggrieved clients got no satisfaction from the Law Society there is an independent adjudicator (presumably like an Ombudsman, if not in name just yet) available to deal with complaints that the Society has considered and you feel erroneously didn't take action on. So it would have been a good idea for the clients to have familiarised themselves with the complaints process so that they knew there was an independent third party available.

As regards the Government taking the bull by the horns, I don't see that happening. While other professions may not now be self-regulating, the legal profession, in the judiciary sense at least, is a cut above for these purposes as it is a part of the political system, flowing alongside the Government but not mingling, neither side oversteps their mark, or impinges on the separation of powers as it is known. There is a reciprocal respect that judges and politicians prefer to maintain. Cynically, you might say judges are self-serving, but they read their position semantically and don't feel they've any business interfering in more political matters, and vice versa that largely holds true for the Government. Admittedly the Law Society is just the representative body for solicitors so isn't as untouchable but I think the Government would be fearful of ****ing off the area as a whole. I'm not saying, for now, if that is right or wrong, just that I don't think it'll happen. Gotta go now though sorry.

[Reality Bites]

Kingdoom hoop why did the much maligned profession withdraw the site Rateyoursolicitor.com. Did the truth hurt or are these so called upstanding members of society above reproach and critiscism.. Baffling really and bordering on McCarthyism

[pete]

As regards the Government taking the bull by the horns, I don't see that happening. While other professions may not now be self-regulating, the legal profession, in the judiciary sense at least, is a cut above for these purposes as it is a part of the political system, flowing alongside the Government but not mingling, neither side oversteps their mark, or impinges on the separation of powers as it is known.

This is about solicitor stealing money not the judicial system. No one is saying all solicitors are untrustworthy but what these guys are accused of is outright fraud & a criminal offence that should be investigated by the Gardai.

[CollegeTillIDie]

Reminds me of a joke

What do you call 300 solicitors chained to a barge at the bottom of Dublin Bay?


A good start :D

[kingdom hoop]

Kingdoom hoop why did the much maligned profession withdraw the site Rateyoursolicitor.com. Did the truth hurt or are these so called upstanding members of society above reproach and critiscism.. Baffling really and bordering on McCarthyism

I wouldn't claim to be a legal zealot/apologist etc, I care about the profession of itself as much as the average man does the fortunes of the Guinnea-Bissau football team. Still, your shout seems a bit too loud for my, owing to living with a DJ not all that tender, ears.

Admittedly I might have arrived at that thought when after a quick wander over to that website it turned out to be still in operation, and seemingly with a full back catalogue too. Whichever, instead of saying it'd be baffling, I think it's worth making the point that solicitors are in a naturally delicate position, dealing with debatable personal issues in a tense working environment where the same misdemeanour can produce varying repercussions. A pretty extreme but illustrative analogy would be with refs, if they do good for you you'll love them, if not, you'll hate them and vociferously make your feelings known.

I think the site is a great idea and resource, but the fact that a solicitor might kick up a fuss is not a surprise, given inevitably some eejit will wantonly lambast him on the internet, and maybe throw in a snide personal dig or something. It's hard not to get annoyed when vilified, fairly or otherwise, but as ever with opinion pieces if it can be properly moderated (ie keep criticism professionally related) then it's great. As it is, the site is working anyway so your basis for complaint seems ungrounded. However I get the feeling you've a bee buzzing about your bonnet so why not set it free and see if one of the part-time apiarists here can catch it and show you it was just a tame adorable bumblebee. :) (wow, that's actually almost funny, I'm finally making progress :p)