Law Society-v-Ronald Johnston Glass
Interlocutor
Edinburgh 16 June 2010. The Tribunal having considered the Complaints dated 1 July 2009, 14 July 2009, 23 July 2009, 3 February 2010 and 20 April 2010 at the instance of the Council of the Law Society of Scotland against Ronald Johnston Glass, Solicitor formerly of Flat 38, 250 Camphill Avenue, Glasgow and now at 2 Aird’s Court, Crail, Fife; Find the Respondent guilty of Professional Misconduct in respect of his operating the client account in deficit, his failure to maintain books and records as required by Rule 8 of the Solicitors (Scotland) Accounts etc Fund Rules 2001, his failure to properly record a bridging loan, his breach of the Money Laundering Regulations, his failure timeously to attend to the stamping and recording of deeds, his failure to ensure that cheques were properly designated as required by Rule 6(2), his failure to follow lender’s instructions in relation to reporting and investments of funds, his failure to comply with the requirements of Rule 21 of the Accounts Rules in relation to borrowing from clients, his failure to comply with the requirements of the Solicitors (Scotland) (Client Communication) Practice Rules 2005, his failure to obtain written authority for an inter-account transfer, his failure to comply with the requirements of the Solicitors (Scotland) (Incidental Financial Business) Practice Rules 2004, his failure to deal timeously with professional correspondence from the Law Society, his failure to obtemper statutory notices, his failure to timeously implement letters of obligation, his failure to timeously settle a solicitor’s account, his failure to settle accounts due to the Registers of Scotland, his failure timeously to administer an estate and follow instructions to do what he had undertaken to the executrix to do and his failure to honour an undertaking given to a client; Suspend the Respondent from practice for a period of five years; Direct that Orders be issued under Section 53C of the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980 in respect of Mr SA, Mr W, Mr M’s executry, Mr I, AW and Mr AG; 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.
Alistair Cockburn
Chairman