Law Society-v-William Meechan

Edinburgh 1 February 2016.  The Tribunal having considered the amended Complaints at the instance of the Council of the Law Society of Scotland against William Meechan, Campbell & Meechan, 19 Waterloo Street, Glasgow; Find the Respondent guilty of professional misconduct in respect of; his failure to communicate effectively with his client, the Secondary Complainer; his failure to respond to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission; his failure to respond to the Law Society of Scotland; his failure to provide an explanation to his client or to the Law Society in connection with the source of £25,000 purported to be a settlement sum; his failure to issue an invoice prior to taking a fee of £3,750; His failure to act with trust and personal integrity in connection with the giving of evidence in relation to an affidavit of 18 October 2013 following his giving of misleading information to the Court; his failure to demonstrate appropriate customer due diligence in breach of Rule B6 of the Law Society of Scotland Practice Rules 2011 and the Money Laundering Regulations 2007; his acting for clients in a potential conflict situation in breach of Rule B1 of the Law Society of Scotland Practice Rules 2011; his retaining of the proceeds of an executry in a client account, making cash payments to the client, and brokering a loan arrangement with another client, all serving to conceal the first client’s financial position when she was in receipt of state benefits, in breach of Rule B1 of the 2011 Practice Rules; his delay or failure to confirm to the Financial Compliance Department that funds provided to the firm were returned to the original sources in breach of Rule B6 of the 2011 Practice Rules; his drawing down of lender/client funds in the absence of written authorisation and breach of Rule B6 of the 2011 Practice Rules; his failure to maintain an appropriate audit trail and his recording of incorrect narratives within the firm’s accounts in breach of Rule B6 of the 2011 Practice Rules; his delay or failure to provide the Law Society with information requested in connection with client receipts in breach of Rule B6 of the 2011 Practice Rules; his failure to ensure that at all times sufficient accounting records were kept to show the true financial position of his firm in breach of Rule B6 of the 2011 Practice Rules; his failure to render a fee note to an executry prior to taking an interim fee, in breach of Rule B6 of the 2011 Practice Rules; Order that the name of the Respondent be Struck from 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 may but has no need to include the names of anyone other than the Respondent; Continues the Complaint to a date to be afterwards fixed in relation to the Secondary Complainer’s claim for compensation.

Colin Bell

 Vice Chairman

Compensation Interlocutor:

Thornhill,   26 April 2016. The Tribunal having made a finding of professional misconduct against William Meechan, Campbell & Meechan, 19 Waterloo Street, Glasgow and having allowed 28 days for the question of compensation to be resolved between the parties; Having received confirmation from the Secondary Complainer, Mhairi Morris or McGlashan, 14 Blackett Road, Maidenbower, Crawley, West Sussex that she has accepted an offer of compensation from the Respondent; Of consent allow the Secondary Complainer, Mhairi Morris or McGlashan, to withdraw her Claim for Compensation and make no further finding of expenses.

Colin Bell

Vice Chairman