STATEMENT FOLLOWING THE DECISIONS OF THE SDT

Continuing to serve our community

Following the decisions of the Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal on 17 February, Carol Gill, managing partner with Raleys Solicitors, said that there would be no interruption to the work of the firm, which would continue to serve the community and to deliver the very best levels of service to every one of its clients.

Concerning the decisions of the tribunal, Ms Gill said: “While relieved that two of the accusations against Raleys were not upheld by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, and we take heart from many of the chairman’s comments, we are naturally very disappointed by the overall result and will be considering appeals in the High Court concerning the decisions that went against us.

“For five years during the investigation of these matters, Raleys has been vilified by certain politicians who have used the protection of parliamentary privilege to make the most outrageous accusations against the firm. We take heart from the tribunal chairman’s opening pronouncement that there has been a lot of misinformed public comment about the case.

“The chairman also made it clear that there was no suggestion that the service provided by Raleys to its clients was in anyway deficient, and said that there was no doubt that Raleys gave a good service so far as the amounts claimed for its clients was concerned. This fully endorses our assertions on this matter. According to the latest figures, Raleys has so far secured £342 million in compensation for miners and their families, at an average of £5,000 per claim.

“In the six years up to 2005, at which point the amounts of subsequent awards was artificially depressed by the government’s introduction of a fast-track variation to the scheme, Raleys clients were averaging £8,500 per claim, up to four times the averages of some other law firms in the region. Those whose claims benefited from the NUM agreement contributed a small portion, on average £250, to the union from their compensation payments.

“The chairman of the tribunal also confirmed in the clearest possible terms that in handling the claims Raleys has not taken a penny of clients’ compensation for themselves. The court had already heard that in respiratory cases, we went much further, using our own funds to top up any low-value settlements to £500. We also told the tribunal that while many law firms refused to handle so-called hard-to-win cases for fear of losing and going unpaid, on a point of honour, Raleys made no such distinction, and through our skill and expertise we achieved some excellent results with such cases.

“The chairman said that Raleys had a proud reputation for its work in the mining communities, and that what had happened over the last five years had been a tragedy for the firm. We told the tribunal that for generations, everyone in the mining industry in Yorkshire has known that Raleys is the union firm. Raleys has consistently upheld the firm’s proud reputation of serving the best interests of the miners in claims against their employers. To this day we maintain a steadfast rule of never working for employers in any employment-related cases.

“The partners and our loyal, hard-working staff, many of whom joined Raleys to pursue a vocation of fighting for justice for vulnerable individuals against powerful corporations, have been devastated by the accusations made against the firm, and will feel even more downhearted by these decisions of the tribunal. We will, however, pick ourselves up and carry on serving the best interests of the community.”