Law Society-v-Ian James McDougall

Edinburgh 28 June 2018.  The Tribunal having considered the Complaint at the instance of the Council of the Law Society of Scotland against Ian James McDougall, a sole practitioner carrying on business under the name of McDougall & Co., 66 Ashgrove Road West, Aberdeen; Find the Respondent guilty of professional misconduct singly in respect that (a) he effected multiple transfers of funds between clients of his firm without obtaining, or retaining, written authority of the clients whose funds were being transferred (b)  he took for or to account of fees multiple sums held on the firm’s client account without rendering fee notes to the clients from whom the fees were taken (c) he failed to record or retain sufficient narrative or documentation required to comply with his duty to keep properly written up such accounting records as a necessary to show all of the firm’s dealings with clients’ money and money dealt with by the firm through its clients account and guilty of professional misconduct in cumulo in respect that (a) he posted receipts to the firm’s client account and claimed fees before those sums were actually credited to the client bank account causing deficits to occur on the client account (b) he failed or delayed unduly to pay into the firm’s client account multiple sums in excess of £50 received from or on behalf of clients (c) he posted onto the client ledgers multiple sums received from or on behalf of clients before the sums had been paid into the client account causing the ledgers to misrepresent the actual position of the client account (d) he  failed to record or retain sufficient narrative for documentation to demonstrate compliance with the Money Laundering Regulations (e) he failed or at least delayed unduly in dispersing multiple client balances held by the firm after there was no reason for them to be retained (f) he failed in multiple instances to carry out risk assessments for transactions in which his firm was acting, to undertake sufficient client due diligence to establish the identity of the firm’s clients or retain records having done so, which would comply with the Money Laundering Regulations 2007; and (g) he continued to fail to address the aforementioned breaches and thereby displayed a course of conduct amounting to deliberate acts in breach of B1.2; Order that the name of the Respondent be Struck Off the Roll of Solicitors in Scotland; Find the Respondent liable in the expenses of the Complainers and of the Tribunal including expenses of the Clerk, chargeable on a time and line basis as the same may be taxed by the Auditor of the Court of Session on an agent and client, client paying basis in terms of Chapter Three of the last published Law Society’s Table of Fees for general business with a unit rate of £14.00; and Direct that publicity will be given to this decision and that this publicity should include the name of the Respondent and any other individual referred to within Paragraph 14A of Schedule 4 to the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980.

Colin Bell

  Vice Chairman