person handling my case posing as a solicitor when not qualified

[Brighton-cpe]

Hi All,

my case has gone tits up! I lost at the ET despite having a very strong case.

I blame this partly on the laissez fair attitude and negligence on behalf of the person who I thought was a solicitor and now turns out not be a solicitor. They are not regulated by the bar counsel, law society or the SRB.

I have correspondence, emails etc, where I have stated I thought my representative was a solicitor (IE this is for MY solicitor and also posted on here stating my solicitor)

It turns out that the person is no more than running a law advice center under a limited company.

I'm so miffed as this has really screwed my case up!

Help!

[Trader97]

Re: person handling my case posing as a solicitor when not qualified

I have some experience in this field. Can i ask though, did he, at any time, say specifically that he was a solicitor, or that the firm was a firm of solicitors, or have you drawn that conclusion ?

I can point you in the right direction on the basis of this answer ...

[Guest]

Re: person handling my case posing as a solicitor when not qualified

Petending to be a solicitor is an offense i believe

http://uk.search.yahoo.com/r/_ylt=A7...ishonesty.page

Peter

[labman]

Re: person handling my case posing as a solicitor when not qualified

From the above link. It could hardly be clearer:

It is a criminal offence for someone to call themselves a solicitor or act as a solicitor if they are not on the roll of solicitors. We call these people "bogus solicitors" and we may prosecute them.

[bluebottle]

Re: person handling my case posing as a solicitor when not qualified

In the case of a bogus solicitor, this is an offence under the Legal Services Act 2007. You need to contact the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and ask to be put through to or given the direct telephone number for their Fraud Intelligence Unit (FIU) which deals with all cases of bogus solicitors and other legal professionals (except barristers). The SRA's FIU works closely with police forces up and down the country.

Also, anyone running any form of legal firm, who is not a registered legal professional themselves, must register with the SRA. It might be a good idea to report this individual to your local Trading Standards Department, as well as the SRA.

BTW, this individual who you thought was a solicitor wasn't running an "Employment & Human Resources" consultancy and included the word "Law" in the business name or on their stationery/website? Just as a matter of interest, what was the name of this firm and the individual, please?

[CleverClogs]

Re: person handling my case posing as a solicitor when not qualified

He should be prosecuted for soliciting. :tinysmile_aha_t:

[Brighton-cpe]

Re: person handling my case posing as a solicitor when not qualified

Hi Guys and gals,

many thanks for your responses...I will respond in order of the posts listed:

1. Hi Trader97, I am not really sure if at any point they referred to themselves as a solicitor, however I have correspondence with a witness which states that the email is only to be used by your SOLICITOR, this email was passed onto the legal adviser and no comments were made or issued raised at the time.... so in response to your question I don't really know. Sorry this is not much help. Is there anything else I could elaborate on?

2.Hi Bluebottle, I spoke with the SRA, they cannot do anything, as the individual is not a solicitor, therefore I am not sure if the SRA would agree with your statement "Also, anyone running any form of legal firm, who is not a registered legal professional themselves, must register with the SRA."
However I will definitely follow up on your advice "It might be a good idea to report this individual to your local Trading Standards Department, as well as the SRA." Cheers for this! In response to your other question yes the company name does contain "Law" in it. It also states on the website the company "has provided expert opinion and advice on all aspects of employment law for over...", well-spotted mate, you are very astute. I suppose a person who is neither a barrister/ solicitor should not be claiming to offer "Expert advice".

I will PM you the name of the company.

Kind Regards

Brighton

[bluebottle]

Re: person handling my case posing as a solicitor when not qualified

Hi Guys and gals,

many thanks for your responses...I will respond in order of the posts listed:

1. Hi Trader97, I am not really sure if at any point they referred to themselves as a solicitor, however I have correspondence with a witness which states that the email is only to be used by your SOLICITOR, this email was passed onto the legal adviser and no comments were made or issued raised at the time.... so in response to your question I don't really know. Sorry this is not much help. Is there anything else I could elaborate on?

2.Hi Bluebottle, I spoke with the SRA, they cannot do anything, as the individual is not a solicitor, therefore I am not sure if the SRA would agree with your statement "Also, anyone running any form of legal firm, who is not a registered legal professional themselves, must register with the SRA."
However I will definitely follow up on your advice "It might be a good idea to report this individual to your local Trading Standards Department, as well as the SRA." Cheers for this! In response to your other question yes the company name does contain "Law" in it. It also states on the website the company "has provided expert opinion and advice on all aspects of employment law for over...", well-spotted mate, you are very astute. I suppose a person who is neither a barrister/ solicitor should not be claiming to offer "Expert advice".

I will PM you the name of the company.

Kind Regards

Brighton

Hi Brighton,

The principal question in this matter is "Did the person who completely trashed your case claim to be a legal professional?" If they did, then this could be an offence under the Fraud Act 2006 and/or Legal Services Act 2007.

If the SRA don't want to know, Trading Standards may well be the best people to report this matter to. The other thing that comes to mind is whether there was any mention of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) or CIPD's logo on the company's website. If you could let me have the name of the company, the name of the individual who trashed your case and, if possible, a link to their website, I can look into this a bit further.

BB

[SpringerSpaniel]

Re: person handling my case posing as a solicitor when not qualified

If they are not a solicitors' practice, it is likley they should be registered with the Ministry of Justice, as representing claimants in the Employment Tribunal is regulated as a claims management activity. Have you checked if they are registered with the MoJ ? If they are, there will be a complaints process you can follow there. You can also sue this firm forr negligence, in that they did not handle your case with adequate skill and diligence.

You may also want to appeal the ET decision, but remember there is a time limit for doing this.

[Brighton-cpe]

Re: person handling my case posing as a solicitor when not qualified

Hi Springer,

thanks for your advice, I am in the process of contacting/ emailing the MOJ, amny thanks for this.

I am in the process of appealing, however I am not really sure where to start other than filling in the notice of appeal form....any tips and tricks on this area?

Best wishes

Brighton

[Victor1]

Re: person handling my case posing as a solicitor when not qualified

Sra and legal ombudsman are a waste of time. Same thing happen to me so I'm taking the whole law firm to court for justice

[teaboy2]

Re: person handling my case posing as a solicitor when not qualified

[MENTION=68517]Victor1[/MENTION] - Thread is over 3 years old since last post!

Welcome to LB by the way.