Bogus Solicitor

Mobydick

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Involved in an upcoming court case with neighbour re their animal causing damage to our property. We are suing the female of the house. However we received many over the top letters from her solicitor, threatening us and trying to get us to drop case. I was suspicious and did a bit of detective work and found out that her life partner, who shares house with her, was actually her solicitor tho he used another address. It appears he has some legal background as he definitely know "legal speak". Have also found out thru law society that he is not listed with them and shld not be representing her or anyone else. Will the judge consider this information when case comes to court. Her solicitor already tried to represent her at a hearing to have case adjourned on their behalf. Tks Mobydick.
 
Have you checked if he is trained Barrister? The majority of people who are called to the Bar do not end up working full time in the profession and some work in totally unconnected fields. It's possible that he's a Barrister. Check with the Bar Council.
 
Thanks csirl. I will check that as well tho when he tried to represent her at court our solicitor informed judge he was not qualified to do so, so judge told him to sit down and butt out. I was wondering tho will the judge take into fact that he not only tried to "act" as her solicitor for the last 18months, dragging this case out, without letting our solicitor know his relationship with his client and that they actually live together. I am absolutely furious about their deception and intend to make sure he does not get away with it. Thks Moby
 
Obviously he should not represent himself as a solicitor, so you should report him to the Law Society.

But how does that change your case against her? Either you have a valid case or you don't. The representation should not matter that much.

Brendan
 
Thanks Brendan. We do have a very valid case. But my main point is surely someone can not pretend to be a solicitor, giving false accusations about my husband in letters to our solicitor which the guards have backed my husband up on and dragging this case on for 18mths, and literally walk into an Irish court and think he can get away with this behaviour. I have already given his details to Law Society and complained to his embassy. I just think they have a complete nerve and am determined not to let him get away with it. Moby
 
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Involved in an upcoming court case with neighbour re their animal causing damage to our property.

This might be covered by their house insurance, if so, would it not be easer to just make a claim to their insurance company.?
 
thanks Towger. They are renting so not sure if they would have house insurance. Anyway, they just wont admit to owning the dog. Even tho I see them walking it regularly and it sits in the window staring out all day. They used to just let it out to roam all day which is how the accident happened in the first place, but they having been intend on dragging this out and have now adjourned case twice. Am I the only one amazed that people would be so stupid to walk into a court and think they could get away with this behaviour? Moby
 
If everyone is denying ownership of the dog, call the local dog warden who will most likely come looking for a licence. Tell them you have reason to believe there is an unlicenced dog at the premises.
 
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Thanks Billythefish, I rang council to see if I could find out if dog has licence and if so whose name was it in but they wouldn't give me information. We really don't want anything to happen to the dog itself tho, even tho it is very badly behaved, they are responsible for its actions. I just can't get over their behaviour. So after all that she then denies ownership! Moby.
 
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May I suggest that you edit your earlier posts to take out the detail of what happened so as not to potentially prejudice the case? The last thing you'd want is to have someone in the court room having to excuse themselves from the case because they read this thread and potentially setting your case back another period of time. I know it's highly unliklely, but it only needs to happen once.

As for the query raised in your original post, if the man is claiming to be something that he is not, then you should definitely report him to the appropriate authorities/body. Ask your solicitor how to go about this. Also, there may be a conflict of interest as he is living in the premises in which the dog allegedly lives. Again, your solicitor should be able to give you information about this.

As for your point about the man not being Irish, I don't see how this is relevant in anyway, unless he is living in the country illegally.
 
Thanks NovaFlare77. Am new to this board so have edited as you suggested. The only reason I mentioned he was not Irish was that I then said I complained to his embassy, but you are right, it is not relevant and I shouldn't have mentioned it. Apologies.
 
I have already given his details to Law Society and complained to his embassy.

Not at all a legal-eagle but, if he is a non-national, would he not have to have a licence/qualification to practice in Ireland and can he provide it to you?
 
Not at all a legal-eagle but, if he is a non-national, would he not have to have a licence/qualification to practice in Ireland and can he provide it to you?


Yes, every Solicitor in this state must be registered with the Law Society of Ireland. They are the Governing body over Solicitors in Ireland.
 
You are suing a non national who is renting a property, is prepared to deny owning a dog, and is prepared to go into court and send letters purporting to be a legal representative. How much are you looking for and what are your solicitors fees ? If you get any significant judgement it may be pointless and it will be you that ends up paying.
 
You are suing a non national who is renting a property, is prepared to deny owning a dog, and is prepared to go into court and send letters purporting to be a legal representative. How much are you looking for and what are your solicitors fees ? If you get any significant judgement it may be pointless and it will be you that ends up paying.

Very good point. Although the alternative is to do nothing about a nuisance, which is also unpalatable.

Make sure you get some clear order from the judge which you can ask the Gardai to enforce.

Brendan
 
Thanks everyone for your replies. The person we are suing is not a non-national, her partner/"solicitor" is. The amount we are looking for is not a huge amount, around 2k, however, it has gone passed that once we realised they were being extremely underhand about the whole thing. It is a matter of principle now. As far as we are concerned, if they are prepared to go to court then we are prepared to expose her partners (and her as she was fully aware of what he was doing) activities to the court and the police and let them deal with it. Are we wrong to do this? Am not getting the feeling that many of you are surprised by this behaviour. Moby
 
It is possible that this person is a solicitor licensed in another country, so technically speaking they may be telling the truth - has anyone actually asked him about his qualifications to practice? I believe there are circumstances whereby a foreign solicitor can represent someone in court in Ireland.
 
Thanks csirl. From the beginning our solicitor asked this question of him and he ignored it. Law Society confirmed to me that if he was not on their list he was not allowed represent anyone. He also never declared his "interest" in this case. And finally, if his partner does not own the dog, then surely he does. Moby
 
And finally, if his partner does not own the dog, then surely he does. Moby

Maybe he does :D

Have you thought about putting the landlords name on as a co-defendant due to the ambiguity over the dog ownership? If it doesnt belong to the tenants, it must belong to the landlord or be there with his permission by logical deduction - tell landlord that he is included because the tenants say its not their dog. No doubt the landlord will clarify matters or get rid of the tenants.
 
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