Beresford Solicitors, the law firm at the heart of the miner’s compensation scandal has had its two senior partners found guilty of misconduct by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal in London today. Senior partners James Beresford and Douglas Smith were found guilty of 8 out of the 11 allegations of serious professional misconduct they faced including conduct unbecoming a solicitor, failing to represent the best interests of clients, misleading a government minister, breaching referral rules and entering into unauthorised arrangements with clients.
The scandal arose after the Times newspaper revealed that the two solicitors had made over £30 million between them in income from taking on claims brought by former miners for conditions such as vibration white finger and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A government run compensation scheme had been set up that was meant to pay out to the miners who had been affected by these conditions as a result of their work, but a significant portion of that compensation found it’s way into the pockets of Beresford and Smith. In some cases around 30% of a miner’s compensation was deducted by the pair, in addition to their costs, which were paid by the Department of Trade and Industry.
The actions of both men brought a great deal of negative publicity to solicitors in general. Speaking at the tribunal, the Chairman David Leverton said: “If ever there was a group of persons who needed the full care and attention from solicitors, it was these miners. Mr Beresford described himself as and entrepreneur. Unfortunately, his attitude allowed himself and Mr Smith to put commercial goals before his clients’ best interests.” The firm had acted in over 100,000 miners’ claims between 2000 and 2006.
Unlike Beresford Solicitors, as a No-Win No-Fee firm, all Camps clients keep 100% of their compensation. If your claim is unsuccessful, we will not charge you, and if your claim is a success, we will recover our costs from the other side. We will not deduct our fees from your compensation, or make you sign up to any agreements that require you to pay us before we take on your claim.
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