back to article Two solicitors fined and suspended for file-sharer letters

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has suspended two lawyers and fined them £20,000 each for sending out thousands of letters accusing people of illegally sharing files. Davenport Lyons partner David Gore and Brian Miller, a former partner at the firm, faced six allegations of breaching the Solicitors' Code of Conduct and …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Isn't it great...

    ...when the story has a happy ending?

  2. Vladimir Plouzhnikov

    Davenport Lyons?

    Davenport Rats, more like...

    1. Rattus Rattus

      That's a bit unfair

      My rats are friendly, good natured, cute little guys.

  3. Craig (well, I was until The Reg changed it to Craig 16)

    Response from Davenport Lyons

    http://www.thelawyer.com/davenport-lyons-says-sdt-action-on-file-sharing-is-totally-unjustified/1008846.article

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Happy

      Sadly, it seems.

      Readers of "The Lawyer" have the same sort of skills as Register readers in regard to getting the whole story.

      If you read the article, and *only* the article, its quite easy to believe this is a travesty for those two men.

      However, if they read the background, the Gross misrepresentations of evidence and the intimidating threats within the letters, their opinion would probably change.

    2. EyeCU
      Unhappy

      they never learn

      I notice the solicitors commenting on the article you linked to can't actually see what the problem is and are defending davenport lyons. Ship them all off on the 'B' Ark

    3. kissingthecarpet
      Thumb Up

      They would say that, wouldn't they?

      Some of the commments on "The Lawyer" site are quite sensible though, including one from a solicitor who clearly understands that lawyers are "professional advisers", not just hired guns who sue when the RIAA ( or some other scumbags) say sue.

      I absolutely loved reading that DavenportLyons have paid out a couple of hundred grand & ACS's tosser is bankrupt.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Holmes

    Love it!

    Time to break out some Lawyer Jokes, I for one would like to see evidence if ever I got one of these ransom notices!

  5. Vic

    Excellent.

    Couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of twats.

    Vic.

  6. Ian Stephenson
    Facepalm

    Pity

    The suspension is only three months.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Thumb Up

      @Ian Stephenson

      Didn't say *what* they were to be suspended by though. Perhaps the SRA could have a phone-in vote for people accused by them.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Happy

      That would be long enough ....

      if it was by the neck!

      1. sabba
        Trollface

        But a whole lot better...

        ..if they were to be suspended by the testicles!!

  7. Arrrggghh-otron
    Pint

    w00t!

    Suddenly it feels like a Friday!

    Cheers...

  8. alain williams Silver badge

    Family law solicitors next ?

    That would be nice - this particular bunch of parasites regularly wind up both sides with the result of earing themselves more money and to everyone else's worst interests.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Meh

    They'll just get one of their lawyer buddy to fake a bankruptcy notice, and they'll get away with paying only £1000. For any further informqation, please contact Andrew Crossley.

    1. Jim Morrow

      bastards 0, good guys 1

      don't be so cynical. this is very good news. a couple of scumbag lawyers working for the record business have had their balls chopped off and their bank accounts emptied. what's not to like about that?

      bankruptcy or other insolvency proceedings will be career suicide for a lawyer. it'll be even worse when the bankruptcy is because of the lawyer's conduct (ie business-related) and it's the solicitor's professional regulatory body that gets shafted. a lawyer who tries this will almost definitely lose their licence and never get it back.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    Fraud or demanding money with menaces?

    "A previous hearing found Gore and Miller had knowingly targeted innocent people when sending out letters based on IP addresses alone."

    Why are these two charming gentlemen not facing a prison sentence?

    1. jonathanb Silver badge

      Re: Blackmail

      The reason they are not facing a prison sentence is because it is an investigation and judgement by the SRA, and not by the Metropolitan Police and the Old Bailey. I guess someone who received one of these letters needs to complain to the police about it, and hope they do something.

  11. g e

    Excellent news

    I hope that's 150,000 EACH and loss of employment too.

  12. Citizen Kaned

    need to visit:

    http://www.thelawyer.com/davenport-lyons-says-sdt-action-on-file-sharing-is-totally-unjustified/1008846.article

    to see what shit bags most lawyers are:

    "I think it's fair enough for David Gore and Brian Miller to appeal this finding. A letter accusing someone of wrongdoing on their home computer is not "intimidation" - people need to grow up a bit."

    lovely!

    i say we all spam that thread to hell. i dont think my comment about them all being arseholes will get through though!

    1. Maverick
      Thumb Up

      reply posted

      let's see - how about everyone else?

      1. Lord Elpuss Silver badge
        Thumb Up

        Me too

        Yep, posted.

  13. Oddbin
    Facepalm

    first post link

    The comments in that first link are typical. The majority decrying this outcome. One person agreeing with it.

  14. BenDwire Silver badge
    Flame

    Hold the celebrations ...

    Hang on a mo. They get fined £20k (which ends up where?), and also have to pay £150k ish to another wunch* of lawyers for their "work" which most of us would have done pro bono**. Meanwhile the real victims end up with absolutely nothing for their ordeals, and no real certainty that it can't happen again, and again ....

    Maybe I'm just jaded that these "professional regulators" seem to extract all the money that's about, and leave the little people with nothing. Anyone who's had a customer go bankrupt on them will sympathise with the "Oh, they had loads of assets but our fees came to their value+£10k, so there's nothing left for you. We're all in this together don't you know, as we've lost £10k on this too....."

    Greedy, parasitic wasters.

    * It's the collective term for Bankers. I couldn't think of anything better in this heat ...

    ** No, I don't like U2 either

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Facepalm

      collective noun

      Apparently, the lawyer's collective noun for themselves is an "eloquence".

      However, I lean more towards the term "ambulance", as in "one lawyer in a small town will starve and the town will prosper -- but an ambulance of them would be rich and the town poor".

      Glad to see that you guys have some sort of system to reign in the madness.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Trollface

    Charges

    One of the charges was "their actions were likely to diminish the trust placed in them and the legal profession by the public;"

    Is that possible?

  16. envmod

    forum wars!

    spam the hell outta that forum!! maybe if enough comments appear from non-legal types they might start to understand how normal people think...

  17. Eden
    Megaphone

    The lawer article...

    The lawers article seems to put a nice slant on it totally ignoring the bits about knowingly sending notices to innocent parties and mis-representing evidence so I can understand why some people using that site as a sole information source may get uppity.

    Thats why I like to read multiple news sources, you can never trust any single one to give you the whole story!!

    well...except the reg of course!!!

  18. min

    the link has been...

    ...duly meatball spammed.

    ugh. but i am happy that at least some of the scum are getting their right desserts for their actions.

  19. Valerion
    Happy

    I love the irony

    ... of lawyers paying massive legal fees! Made my day!

  20. JeffyPooh
    Pint

    Follow up with Civil Actions

    Hit 'em again! ...and again! ...and again! ...and again!

    (At least the non-bankrupted one.)

    Exhibit A in the many Civil Actions would be this finding.

    Yee haw.

  21. Citizen Kaned

    lmao

    man, we are doing ok. the voice of reason has hit. they even posted my reply minus the bit about no wonder the public think all lawyers are arseholes :)

  22. Citizen Kaned

    love it...

    especially the comment talking about 'commentards' definately a reg reader there. i notice how all the solicitor scum bags have now shut the fuck up! :)

    how many days until registration is required on that site? :)

    1. Lord Elpuss Silver badge
      Thumb Up

      Registration

      www.mailinator.com.

      Registration, smegistration.

  23. envmod
    Thumb Up

    nice job soldiers

    *golf clap*

  24. Anonymous Coward
    Pint

    Proceeds of crime?

    Can they hauled with that as well and asked to prove which bits of their fortune was not from demanding money with menaces?

    A pint for the SRA.

  25. TryTurningItOffAndOnAgain
    Pint

    a good start

    As a recipient of one of these letters a few years ago

    I of course did not pay the 'Protection Money' but replied encouraging the firm to proceed with formal legal proceedings if they were certain that I was a liar and a thief and were willing to state this in court. I heard nothing back, big surprise.

    A good long jail term for racketeering would have been better.

    BTW "The Lawyer" doesn't seem to be accepting comments now

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Thumb Up

      @ TryTurningItOffAndOnAgain

      Re Doc Dish's comment (hear hear BTW) you could forward it to your local old bill complaining about attempted extortion and if they do nothing about it it could maybe get a judicial review. I'm no legal expert or solicitor though ;-)

      With a bit of luck could get the sheisters to see the inside of aprison cell

  26. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    Wondermark gets it right

    http://wondermark.com/323/

    Ah lawyers!

  27. Ascylto
    Big Brother

    23456

    "and fined them £20,000 each ..."

    An hour's work, then!

  28. Displacement Activity

    Bear craps in woods

    Six allegations proven against these two. The way I see it, with a lot of experience, is that 1, 2, 3, and 6 are pretty much a way of life for most solicitors.

  29. teebie

    What's the term for where you read what you expect to see, not what was written

    On my first readthrough of the lawyer article I saw

    "The pair, who were represented in the SDT by Hailsham Chambers’ Michael Pooles QC, are planning to appeal the ruling, Davenport Lyons said. Crapsticks"

  30. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    Comments on thelawyer website

    I've replied to a few on the thelawyer website mainly replying to comments that the people in question would never and never did send letters to innocent people. I've replied saying that the hacked emails clearly showed that they did know people were very likely innocent but carried on regardless.

    Guess what - none have been put up yet but a few more stating they wouldn't have done this have been put up...

    Ah what a closed club we weave

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