Law Society-v-Alasdair James Goodban
Interlocutor
Edinburgh 12 November 2015. The Tribunal having considered the Complaint at the instance of the Council of the Law Society of Scotland against Alasdair James Goodban formerly 76 Fairies Road, Perth and now 9 Greenbank Crescent, Morningside, Edinburgh; Find the Respondent guilty of professional misconduct in respect of his failure to comply with the common law standard applicable to a solicitor acting on behalf a lender in a conveyancing transaction and his failure to comply with the requirements of the CML Handbook for Scotland; his failure to act with absolute propriety and to protect the interests of his client being the lender in respect of a number of transactions, his failure to comply with Rules 6 and 24 of the Solicitors (Scotland) Accounts etc Rules 2001, his failure to comply with Regulations 5 and 14 of the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 and his failure to implement the terms of an irrevocable mandate thereby breaching the professional obligations incumbent upon him in terms of the Standard of Conduct Practice Rules 2008 and his failure to act with integrity and candour in his correspondence with the party in whose favour the mandate had been drawn in breach of Rules 1 and 9 of the Standard of Conduct Practice Rules 2008; Censure the Respondent and Direct in terms of Section 53(5) of the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980 that any practising certificate held or to be issued to the Respondent shall be subject to such restriction as will limit him to acting as a qualified assistant to (and to being supervised by) such employer or successive employers as maybe approved by the Council of the Law Society of Scotland or the Practising Certificate Sub Committee of the Council of the Law Society of Scotland and that for an aggregate period of five years; 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.
Dorothy Boyd
Vice Chairman