Discipline Tribunal report shows cases becoming more complex

Misconduct prosecutions to the Scottish Solicitors' Discipline Tribunal have not increased in number, but cases are becoming more complex and taking up more Tribunal time, according to the Tribunal's latest annual report.

The report for the year to 31 October 2014 reveals that 31 cases were taken to the Tribunal during the 12 months, along with another 11 appeals against decisions of the Law Society of Scotland and other miscellaneous applications. The Tribunal made findings of professional misconduct in 24 cases.

Causing most concern is the continuing high level of failures to comply with the CML Handbook – another 10 cases in the past year. “The Tribunal is extremely concerned by the number of cases still coming to the Tribunal where solicitors have failed to comply with their obligations in terms of the CML Handbook”, the report states. “The Tribunal considers that when solicitors act in this way it seriously damages the reputation of the legal profession.”

This year's report is set out in a somewhat different form, with the body of the report highlighting interesting issues that have arisen while individual case summaries appear in the appendices.

Introducing the report, the chairman, Alistair Cockburn, comments: “It is hoped that members of the profession take time to read these decisions and be reminded of their obligations in terms of the Handbook.”

Other features of the year are the large number of complaints that involve secondary complainers making a claim for compensation, and in increasing number of appeals by lay complainers dissatisfied by a decision of the Society not to make a finding of unsatisfactory professional conduct. Often these complainers have difficulty framing relevant grounds of appeal, and the Tribunal has prepared guidance to try and assist them.

The Tribunal has decided to issue its report only in electronic form this year, which enables more information about individual cases, along with different statistical breakdowns, to be given in the appendices. The report is on the Tribunal's website www.ssdt.org.uk – a website that is currently being upgraded, with the new version due to complete in 2015.