The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal delivered judgment on 12 December 2008 in proceedings brought against Jim Beresford and Douglas Smith, formerly of Beresfords Solicitors. The case, which has attracted widespread media interest, involved allegations of serious misconduct by both solicitors when handling thousands of claims by former miners under the world’s largest personal injury compensations scheme.
Timothy Dutton QC and James McClelland acted for the prosecuting authority, the SRA. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal upheld 8 of the 11 allegations, found that the Respondents had acted dishonestly and ordered that their names be struck off the roll. A spokesman for the Respondents has indicated that they intend to appeal.
The case has been widely reported. For example please see:
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article5325602.ece
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article5151525.ece
http://www.thelawyer.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=136055
