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Legal fees of £2400, winnings of £200

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  • Legal fees of £2400, winnings of £200

    http://business.timesonline.co.uk/to...cle5176273.ece


    From The Times

    November 18, 2008


    Legal fees of £2400, winnings of £200

    Case study: Mr I




    div#related-article-links p a, div#related-article-links p a:visited {color:#06c;}Beresfords often banked more money for its work on a coal health claim than the total sum of damages awarded to its client.

    The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal heard yesterday of a case in which the law firm represented the widow of Mr I., a dead miner, and earned more than ten times the sum that was awarded to her.

    The offer of damages made to Mr I.’s estate, on behalf of the Government, was £281.77, a sum that Beresfords advised Mr I.’s widow to accept.

    The solicitors’ firm was paid £2,431.08 by the Government for handling the claim, but it was not happy to stop there.
    Related Links






    Mr I.’s widow had signed a no-win, no-fee agreement with Beresfords, which entitled the firm to claim a percentage of her damages as a success fee. A member of staff asked Doug Smith, one of the partners, whether, given the tiny award, he wanted to waive the fee. Mr Smith had no such intention. He refused, telling the employee to “claim the success fee to which we are entitled”. This led to another £64.04 being deducted.

    The result was that Mrs I. was left with £217.73. Its £64.04 success fee raised Beresfords’ earnings in the case from £2,431.08 to £2,495.12.

  • #2
    Re: Legal fees of £2400, winnings of £200

    Some solicitors are simply disgusting... no moral fibre whatsoever.

    Tom
    I will not provide support by Private Message under any circumstances. This is for your protection and mine. Any advice I give is my own opinion and carries no legal weight. Check it before you use it!
    Over £1200 claimed in several actions against several organisations.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Legal fees of £2400, winnings of £200

      Yes it's a terrible story but the government are as much to blame IMO.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Legal fees of £2400, winnings of £200

        Guilty and struck off.

        http://business.timesonline.co.uk/to...cle5325602.ece

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Legal fees of £2400, winnings of £200

          Excellent news, Justice is served, I hope they have to give it all back and are not allowed to continue to live on their profits.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Legal fees of £2400, winnings of £200

            Good news

            Two solicitors whose firm was paid £136 million by the Government for handling compensation claims by sick miners were struck off yesterday after a disciplinary tribunal found them guilty of dishonesty.
            Jim Beresford and Doug Smith, whose misconduct was first exposed by The Times, were found to have acted with “conscious impropriety” in their dealings with a mining union that handed their law firm, Beresfords, thousands of industrial disease compensation claims.
            Mr Beresford, 58, has banked more than £30 million from his firm’s work on the claims and was named last year as Britain’s highest-earning solicitor. Between 2004 and 2006, he grew richer at a rate of £37,000 per day.

            nice work if you can get it, grrr.
            #staysafestayhome

            Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

            Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Legal fees of £2400, winnings of £200

              I'm sorry but EX is correct when he says the government is also responsible for this appalling case. They could have when setting up the fund insisted a fixed fee regime on the clear understanding that no compensation would be deducted for fees.

              In addition they could have made it much easier for victims to claim rather than demand they be examined by an expensive consultant as apposed to accepting their GP medical records. The list goes on

              Comment

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