Further two Ross Harper partners struck off

The Scottish Solicitors’ Discipline Tribunal (SSDT) has struck a further two former Ross Harper partners from the roll of solicitors following an investigation by the Law Society of Scotland.

Alan Miller and James Price have been struck off by the SSDT for professional misconduct. Paul McHolland and Joseph Mullen were both censured.

The findings, published by the SSDT today, Friday, 4 August, follow earlier strike-offs of Cameron Fyfe and Alan Susskind, who were also partners at the firm.

Lorna Jack, Chief Executive of the Law Society of Scotland, said: “It’s essential that people can continue to place their trust in the legal profession. As the professional body for all Scottish solicitors, we take our regulatory role very seriously and will intervene to protect clients when we suspect that any of our members has failed  to meet the Society’s high professional standards.

“Concerns were raised about the firm’s accounting record following one of our routine financial compliance inspections. This led to us going to the Court of Session to request the appointment of a Judicial Factor to the firm in April 2012 and, following investigation, we prosecuted all six former partners before the independent Scottish Solicitors’ Discipline Tribunal.”

The full findings are available to read on the SSDT website: SSDT findings

Notes to editors

Judicial Factor

The Judicial Factor is an officer of the court and acts independently of the Law Society of Scotland.

The Law Society of Scotland's financial compliance team carries out regular inspections of all solicitor firms in Scotland to ensure that they comply with its rules on dealing with clients' money. If an inspector suspects that client money is missing or the accounting records are so poor they cannot tell if client money is missing, the Law Society of Scotland can request the Court of Session to appoint a Judicial Factor to that firm to protect the public and other solicitors. The decision to make the appointment is for the court.

See the client protection section on the Law Society website for more information.