Scottish Legal Consumer Complaints Alert : Solicitor John G. O’Donnell & Co, 15 Clarkston Road. Glasgow. G44 4EF

Findings against John G.O’Donnell by the Scottish Solicitors Discipline Tribunal :
http://www.ssdt.org.uk/findings/finding_item.asp?LTfindingID=465

Solicitor(s) JOHN GERARD O’DONNELL, 15 Clarkston Road, Glasgow
Tribunal Date : 25/01/2010
Appeal Status : No Appeal

Full Download of complaint findings (pdf)

Interlocutor

Edinburgh 25 January 2010. The Tribunal having considered the substitute Complaint dated 16 October 2009 at the instance of the Council of the Law Society of Scotland against John Gerard O’Donnell, 15 Clarkston Road, Glasgow; Find the Respondent guilty of Professional Misconduct in respect of his permitting his own personal interest to influence his acting on behalf of a client, his failure to act on his client’s irrevocable instructions and in direct conflict with those irrevocable instructions by his borrowing £60,000 from his client rather than paying the sum to the brother of the client in terms of the mandate and his borrowing £60,000 from his client in breach of rule 21 of the Solicitors (Scotland) Accounts, etc Fund Rules 2001; Direct that Orders be issued under Section 53C(2) of the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980 in respect of Mr C, Ms D, Abbey National, Mr F and Ms G and Mr I; Censure the Respondent and Direct in terms of Section 53(5) of the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980 that for a period of five years any practising certificate held or issued to the Respondent shall be subject to such restriction as will limit him to acting as a qualified assistant to such employer as may be approved by the Council or the Practising Certificate Committee of the Council of the Law Society of Scotland, said restriction to run concurrent with his existing restriction; 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.

Findings against John G.O’Donnell by the Scottish Solicitors Discipline Tribunal :

http://www.ssdt.org.uk/findings/finding_item.asp?LTfindingID=382

Solicitor(s) JOHN GERARD O’DONNELL, Solicitor, 15 Clarkston Road, Glasgow
Tribunal Date : 16/01/2008
Appeal Status : No Appeal

Full Download of complaint findings (pdf)

Interlocutor

Edinburgh 16 January 2008. The Tribunal having considered the Complaints dated 18 June and 21 June 2007 at the instance of the Council of the Law Society of Scotland against John Gerard O’Donnell, Solicitor, 15 Clarkston Road, Glasgow; Find the Respondent guilty of Professional Misconduct in cumulo in respect of his repeated failure between 14 July 2000 and 22 March 2007 to settle Counsel’s fees, his delay and/or failure to record heritable deeds with the Registers of Scotland on behalf of his clients, his breach of rules 6, 8 and 24 of the Solicitors (Scotland) Accounts etc Funds Rules 2001 and his unreasonable delay in responding to the reasonable enquiries of the Complainers; Censure the Respondent; Fine him in the sum of £500 to be forfeit to Her Majesty and Direct in terms of Section 53(5) of the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980 that the Respondent’s practising certificate be subject to a condition that the books and records of the Respondent’s practice be inspected by the Council of the Law Society of Scotland no later than 30 June 2008 and thereafter at nine monthly intervals on two further occasions, the last of which to take place no later than 31 December 2009, all such inspections to be at the expense of the Respondent; Find the Respondent liable in the expenses of the Complainers and in the expenses of the Tribunal as the same may be taxed by the auditor of the Court of Session on an agent and client indemnity basis in terms of Chapter Three of the last published Law Society’s Table of Fees for general business with a unit rate of £11.85; and Direct that publicity will be given to this decision and that this publicity should include the name of the Respondent.