I feel sick - solicitor has been negligent. Please help!

Loretta

Nicki wrote: »

I'm sorry that eira and Loretta have had problems but these are not typical.

On what eira has said, her case did sound as though it was outside the area of expertise of most common or garden matrimonial solicitors who would not also be familiar with US state and federal law too. They may have declined to act because they felt they didn't have the expertise to do so. So far as the £20,000 quote goes, solicitors charge by the hour, and it would take a lot of hours to read and analyse 3 blanket boxes of documents, but less if eira weeded out the many documents she admits to be wholly irrelevant!

No idea on what she posted why Loretta had problems. All I can say is that I am a solicitor and have never known any of my colleagues in any of the firms I have worked for to have had any problems at all in acting for clients who claim their previous solicitors were negligent, nor have I had a problem doing so. The only reason I can think why local solicitors may be leery is if they have now, or have in the past, had business dealings with the person you want to sue, in which case they may have a conflict of interest.

To find a good solicitor, rely on personal recommendation. You will be looking for a firm who does both conveyancing and litigation as you will need expertise in both areas. If no personal recommendations, ask the Law Society, who will recommend 3 in the appropriate area.

I think that the solicitors who acted for eira did not have the expertise to do so but it didn't stop tem taking on her case and make loads of money out of her for a bum job.
In my case I think that local solicitors had dealings, business or otherwise with this rogue solicitor and do not want anyone looking into their affairs.

Solicitors know that they can do whatever they like because they will get away with it unless another agency ie. the police steps in. I was told by the senior partner that he would make sure that I would not find any legal representation in the SE of England to act against them, they stick together and unless you have £100, 000 to put down and are prepared to lose it you cannot sue a solicitor, this may sound unlikely but it is a fact.

When I phoned the Law Society to ask for names of firms who act in this way they gave me 3, they are only allowed to give 3 at a time. One acted only for the solicitors who are being sued and the other 2 only did matrimonial and had never done the other sort of work, so much for help from the Law Society.

When I phone the Law Society from time to time just to see how efficient they are I give the name of this solicitor and ask if he is OK to use I am told yes he is fine. He has not been allowed to be a solicitor since 1998, although he worked for his firm until 8.15am in April 2002, on the morning he was actually sentenced to prison at 11.00am against all the rules, has served his sentenced and is still banned by the Law Society from being a solicitor again, but they still say he is OK if you make an enquiry. Please google and find out his name to make sure next time you go into a firm of solicitors you don't find you have an appointment with him!!

You ask how this affected me If a solicitor is struck off for behaviour not befitting a solicitor, and this was before being charged with supplying a class A drug to his client, and he knows that his career is finished and that he will definitely be receving a prison sentence but still has the cover of respectablility under the cover of' 'the good ol' boys the well respected local family solicitors' and still has access to clients money how do you think this solicitor spent his time? The Law Society has this rule so that when a solicitor has nothing left to lose the public are protected, sounds sensible but they do not enforce it. Why his firm suported him in this illegal act thereby committing an illlegal act themselves is a mystery to me but I will find out what is behind it, or the newspaper who is helping me will find out.

Nicki are you offering to help eira yourself or by giving her a list of all these solicitors who are out there willing to help?

Loretta

Nicki wrote: »

Well this is rubbish to start off with. Both solicitors and Counsel regularly have their bills scrutinised by taxing masters to determine whether they are fair. You should have been told in your letter setting out terms and conditions of your right to this, and I am amazed Law Society didn't tell you. You are probably out of time to request it now though.

As for taxis and first class travel, this is fine if he was working to prepare your case at the time. You can't work on a clients case in second class or on the tube in case someone sees the papers but can do so in the privacy of a single seat in first or in a taxi. Otherwise, you would be charged the second class fare but also a lesser hourly rate for travelling time when all the lawyer was doing was listening to his ipod and reading the paper, from which you would get no benefit.

I am sure that solicitor's and barrister's bills are queried all the time, I think what eira is trying to say is that if you do query this is the sort of reaction you get to try to belittle you for daring to ask

eira

Thanks for replies-someone listening even makes a difference. Yes my case was a US/UK divorce but there was a very simple-and cheap- way of controlling the costs. I asked for these repeatedly-and this was as simple as making sure forms were collated and filled in properly, taking steps mto ensure that no finalisation took place until the financial order was complete and then ensuring that all the correct procedures had been completed for the registration of the maintenance. (I found this out and gave the solicitor all the paperwork ). The big loss was a US pension fund- this yet again is a really simple procedure. It is US federal law that this asset should be divided on divorce- there is a laid down formula for doing it and a simple form. It is designed for Americans who cannot afford an attorney. It can be retrieved after divorce if there has been indications that it was fraudulently hidden at the time of divorce. Trouble is the Americans have a restriction on this if you have used an attorney-they simply don't believe that any attorney would not pursue it. This is one avenue that I need the solicitor's help on. My 'ex-husband just happened to be his firm's pension administrator so he was well aware of the law. He disguised it as a 'savings fund' worth relatively little. I pointed this out to the barrister purportedly acting for me and he said if I didn't stop talking about it he'd stop representing me. (On reflection this would have done me a massive favour !)

I'm sure barristers do have to answer to the tax man but he certainly didn't tell me where his bill went. He charged (on another bill) for two days in court waffling on about tax implications and was told by the judge that he seemed 'uncertain of the position'. The answers to all the issues were clearly printed on the brochure that came with the fund in question and the rest was available from the Inland Revenue International helpline (another very helpful resource). He didn't seem to know about the USA federal pension situation despite his stance as an 'expert in international law'.

I have sifted out the relevant paperwork from the 3 boxes but have been told that 'all of it is needed.' The trouble is that it all looks compliocated from the outside but if you take careful steps with due consideration it isn't. The hideous irony is that I could have done a much better job myself. One last (breathe) point is that I was assured that 'no one had ever succeeded in getting US orders enforced ' (this by yet another solicitor) but yet again there were clear procedures to follow. The US seems to make it much easier for the lay person to pursue the Dead Beat parent.

But now I would still like to know how to go about settling the remaining issues as the financial situation is quite desperate. I have now given the firm yet more time- the time is up and they have totally ignored my letter. So has anyone -on their own- gone down the solicitor negligence route with the firm. I know they have insurance against such contingencies. I need them to go some way for making up for the massive mess they've left me in-and quite frankly an apology would have gone a very long way. The nearest I got was a letter six months after the divorce saying she couldn't get the order met and she was making up the bill! As I said at that point she had got the huge sum of £360-repayment of an old debt and a maintenance order reduced . None of the paperwork for settling the order was complete-some was missing and another set was covered in handwritten alterations (none of it signed-and she had no idea who'd done it) . And that was it , until two years later I found out she hadn't even had the maintenance order registered-and that was when things got really nasty.

Nicki

With respect eira and Loretta, you have rather hijacked foreversummer's thread, and your posts have nothing to do with a boundary dispute. Perhaps if you want to continue this and get advice, it would be fairer to start your own thread on Marriages and Family board, and leave this thread to answer foreversummer's question.

I'm not in a position to act for eira, both because I am currently not working due to childcare issues and also because matrimonial law is not my area of expertise, with or without jurisdictional complications! To both of you, I would say that just because your original solicitor told you that you wouldn't find anyone else to act for you, this doesn't make it true. There are bullies and blaggers in all walks of life. This is like a plumber telling you after a botched job that unless you pay his bill no other plumber in your town will put things right. It sounds intimidating, but just isn't true.

The only reasons I can think why solicitors would refuse to act in a small locality would be:

1. They once worked in the same firm as the solicitor you want to sue, and feel they have a conflict of interest;

2. They have a family relationship or a close personal friendship with said solicitor for the same reason;

3. They feel they also don't have the appropriate expertise and fear that you will also sue them if you are unhappy with the outcome of the case. This is more likely I'm afraid if you are going in all guns blazing about the poor service you received elsewhere, and seem to have unreasonable expectations or an incorrect view of the merits of your case.

In all of these cases you wouldn't want that solicitor acting for you anyway. If the Law Society's recommendations are poor, then contact solicitors yourself to see if they will take the case and interview them on the phone to make sure you are happy with them. If necessary go to the next nearest town to ensure you don't find that the one you want has a conflict.

As for the Law Society continuing to recommend a solicitor who has been struck of the roll, I am genuinely shocked. I can't believe this is a regular occurence though, and am sure it must be an error in failing to remove his details from their computer records. The people working at the Law Society have no knowledge about how good the solicitors they recommend are, or know them personally. They simply have a computerised database of all the solicitors in a given area, to which individual solicitors have the option to add in their specialisms. The info is not double checked.

foreversummer

amcluesent wrote: »

>It is very hard to see how the owner could possibly make use of it.<

As a ransom strip, as in holding you to ransom to buy them out to allow you to sell the property without an ongoing dispute. Your vendors must have been ecstatic when your solicitor failed to pick up the dispute.

Abolutely amcluesent. I bet they were ecstatic. My solicitor played exactly into their hands - they divulged minimum information, their solicitor knew the extent of their problems but failed to pass in to mine, and my solicitor was too bloody dumb to read the information that was passed to him, let alone relay it to me. So where the hell does that leave me?

Foreversummer

eira

That's me told off-and I think the tenor of Nicki's replies supports my perspective. I notice the original poster on this thread doesn't seem to take quite the same perspective or attitude towards my posts. None of the assumptions in Nicki's post are correct-and I mean none.
This is the fundamental issue-get bad service from a solicitor and it makes dealing with a dodgy builder as difficult as shopping in Waitrose-except no one but another victim is listening. I rest my case (for now)-but if anyone has had experience of dealing with solicitor negligence I'd be delighted to hear from them.These mistakes cover many areas as just a quick perusal of these boards will testify. This is one area of consumer rip-offs that are a big black hole that no one wants to l cast a light in to. It entails serious money and often even more serious damage to people's lives.

benood

Sorry, I agree with Nicki, surely this thread should stick to the boundary issue.

Since you have recently moved in at least you have a while to get the problem sorted before you need to move again.

OK the original solicitors have messed up on the face of it, give them a reasonable amount of time to get the problem sorted - but phoning every couple of days is reasonable - plus keep a diary of what is happening - on here is as good as anywhere. Your sols should keep you fully informed with the exact nature of the problem and progress - details of all the parties. Try and keep it friendly - you've a much better chance of sorting this out quickly that way in my opinion.

I don't suppose you could arrange a meeting with the previous owners to establish the situation a bit more clearly? Either one to one or at your solicitors. Perhaps this is wishful thinking - but it could be very productive.

Good luck.

Loretta

foreversummer wrote: »

Abolutely amcluesent. I bet they were ecstatic. My solicitor played exactly into their hands - they divulged minimum information, their solicitor knew the extent of their problems but failed to pass in to mine, and my solicitor was too bloody dumb to read the information that was passed to him, let alone relay it to me. So where the hell does that leave me?

Foreversummer

I do hope that you do not think that eira or I have highjacked your thread. Your main query seemed to be that your solicitor was not doing his job and what could you do about it becuase it seemed he did not care one bit about it. Now you know why because no one is going to expect him to do his job properly and he knows that he will get away with it because there is nothing you can do.

I wanted to make sure you realised that despite you having a grievance and had already spent time and money on it, you will have no success whatever trying to sue your solicitor. It may seem straight forward to you and to most other people that if a professional makes such a mess of something as important and expensive as your home, probably the biggest purchase of your life that their governing body the Law Society or a solicitor would sort it out for you. This will not happen. The best way to deal with this is to make your solicitor do his job properly. This may mean, if he does not answer letters and phone calls or get on with putting this right immediately you will have to go into his office and stay there until he sees you and stay there until he has done his job. I mean do not let him out of your sight. Tell everyone who comes into the waiting room what has happened to you, tell everyone you know, the local press, anyone and try and embarrass this professional to do his job properly. The gloves have to come off if you want this resolved and it must be resolved otherwise you will worry forever.

Despite what Nicki says you will NOT find a solicitor to help you, not next door, next town, next county or the other end of the country. Perhaps she will be able to produce a list of solicitors who do this kind of work or may on your behalf contact the Law Society and get an accurate list of solicitors who do this sort of work. When she has found out what the real world is like and how her profession actually behaves and maybe she could make it her mission to clean up the profession becuase at the moment it stinks.

foreversummer

benood wrote: »

Sorry, I agree with Nicki, surely this thread should stick to the boundary issue.

OK the original solicitors have messed up on the face of it, give them a reasonable amount of time to get the problem sorted - but phoning every couple of days is reasonable - plus keep a diary of what is happening - on here is as good as anywhere. Your sols should keep you fully informed with the exact nature of the problem and progress - details of all the parties. Try and keep it friendly - you've a much better chance of sorting this out quickly that way in my opinion.

Good luck.

Thanks benood

This is exactly what I will do for the time-being. My solicitor has been negligent, and he knows it, so it is in his interest to sort it out.

I appreciate your advice Nicki and I am sorry this post has got so messy.

I will keep you all posted regarding progress.

Foreversummer

Loretta

benood wrote: »

Sorry, I agree with Nicki, surely this thread should stick to the boundary issue.

Since you have recently moved in at least you have a while to get the problem sorted before you need to move again.

OK the original solicitors have messed up on the face of it, give them a reasonable amount of time to get the problem sorted - but phoning every couple of days is reasonable - plus keep a diary of what is happening - on here is as good as anywhere. Your sols should keep you fully informed with the exact nature of the problem and progress - details of all the parties. Try and keep it friendly - you've a much better chance of sorting this out quickly that way in my opinion.

I don't suppose you could arrange a meeting with the previous owners to establish the situation a bit more clearly? Either one to one or at your solicitors. Perhaps this is wishful thinking - but it could be very productive.

Good luck.

Foreversummer has employed a solicitor to do this work while he/she goes and does his job to pay the solicitor's bill and the mortgage, why should they have to chase the solicitor, why should he be doing the solicitor's job as well. Foreversummer must be worried sick about this situation and all you are suggesting is that he/she helps the solicitor who made a huge mistake and seems in no hurry to put it right.

If you look through this forum so many people ask questions that their solicitor's should be answering and are being paid to answer, this is not an isolated case. Why would people ask complete strangers for advice on here when they have a highly paid, by themselves, professional acting for them - because they are desperate because these solicitors are not doing their job and they are finding it impossible to sort it out -it is very much a recurring theme. I am not talking about solicitors who are criminals I am talking about endemic poor service in the legal profession