Miners’ solicitors breached code – BBC News
“Solicitors in South Yorkshire deliberately breached a code of conduct to collect £32m in fees from miners’ compensation claims, a tribunal ruled.”
BBC News, 17th February 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: miners
Government ‘repeating mistakes’ by fighting miners in court – The Guardian
“The government is spending millions of pounds in legal fees fighting the claims of sick miners in a move that lawyers say will recreate the mistakes of the past.”
The Guardian, 12th January 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
£6m of sick miners’ awards went to Arthur Scargill’s union – The Times
“Arthur Scargill’s trade union was paid more than £6 million by a firm of solicitors that deducted the money from compensation awarded to sick miners for industrial disease, a tribunal was told.”
The Times, 7th January 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
More solicitors to face tribunal over coalminers’ scandal – The Times
“Solicitors across Britain are bracing themselves for further sanctions over the coalminers’ compensation scandal that led to two lawyers being struck off for dishonesty.”
The Times, 13th December 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Struck off: lawyers who milked sick miners for millions – The Independent
“A solicitor who became Britain’s richest lawyer was yesterday struck off after being found guilty of creaming millions of pounds from compensation paid to sick miners. Jim Beresford, 58, and his partner Douglas Smith, 52, were also ordered to pay substantial costs for serious professional misconduct over the handling of personal injury claims made under a compensation scheme for miners suffering coal dust-related diseases and other injuries.”
The Independent, 12th December 2008
Source: www.independent.co.uk
We did nothing wrong in making millions out of sick miners, law firm tells tribunal – The Times
“A law firm that earned £141 million from a government industrial disease compensation scheme denied yesterday that it had exploited sick miners and their families.”
The Times, 20th November 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
SRA comes under fire in Beresfords tribunal – The Lawyer
“The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) was accused of ignoring ‘false information’ and holding a ‘biased’ investigation, as the disciplinary tribunal against the coalminers lawyer Jim Beresford continued today.”
The Lawyer, 18th November 2008
Source: www.thelawyer.com
Solicitors accused over ‘dubious deals’ with union official that cost sick miners thousands – The Times
“Britain’s highest-earning solicitor acted dishonestly and with ‘conscious impropriety’ in dealings with a mining union that led to his firm handling thousands of industrial disease compensation claims, a tribunal heard yesterday.”
The Times, 18th November 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Solicitors ‘misled’ sick miners – BBC News
“Two solicitors who won personal injury claims for thousands of miners have appeared before a tribunal accused of taking cuts from compensation pay-outs.”
BBC News, 17th November 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Jim Beresford’s firm made £16.7m in year handling miners’ compensation claims – The Times
“Jim Beresford gained the dubious distinction of being the ‘highest-earning solicitor in Britain’ through the profits generated by his firm’s handling of miners’ compensation claims.”
The Times, 14th November 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Miners’ compensation: third of solicitors now flout rules on secret payments to win work – The Times
“The legal profession faces a radical overhaul of a multimillion-pound trade in which thousands of solicitors fork out confidential payments or commission to obtain work.”
The Times, 14th November 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Law firms rake in £700m in fees for coal miners’ claims – Legal Week
“Legal fees for firms advising on the ongoing compensation claims for sick coal miners have hit more than £700m.”
Legal Week, 12th June 2008
Source: www.legalweek.com
Solicitor Jim Beresford makes £30m from sick miners’ compensation scheme – The Times
“A solicitor who specialises in claiming compensation for sick coalminers has banked a personal profit of more than £30 million from the government-funded scheme.”
The Times, 9th June 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Whitehall bungled miners’ compensation, say MPs – The Guardian
“Whitehall ‘seriously mismanaged’ a £4bn compensation scheme for former miners suffering from lung disease and physical injuries, a report by a committee of MPs said yesterday.”
The Guardian, 4th March 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Lawyers forced to repay millions taken from sick miners’ compensation – The Times
“Law firms that grew rich by exploiting sick miners are to be forced to repay tens of millions of pounds that they wrongly sliced from their clients’ compensation.”
The Times, 8th February 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
LCS rejects ‘negative’ report on sick miners – Law Society’s Gazette
“The Legal Complaints Service (LCS) has branded a report claiming it has short-changed some sick miners seeking repayment of fees as ‘unduly harsh’ and ‘negative’.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 17th January 2008
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Miners hit by compensation failures – The Lawyer
“Sick miners and their families are losing out on compensation they are entitled to because of administrative failures, according to a critical report by Legal Services Complaints Commissioner Zahida Manzoor.”
The Lawyer, 15th January 2008
Source: www.thelawyer.com
Solicitors make millions from sick miners’ claims – The Guardian
“Beresfords, a tiny firm of solicitors in Doncaster, has received £123m from the taxpayer by winning compensation claims on behalf of coal miners for work-related diseases, new government figures show.”
The Guardian, 12th October 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Watchdog criticises government for spying on miners – The Guardian
“The Department of Trade and Industry has been criticised by a government watchdog for unjustifiable spying on former coalminers claiming compensation for industrial injuries. The department used investigators in clandestine surveillance operations to verify claims from miners who say they have suffered illnesses from working down the pits.”
The Guardian, 18th August 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Miners’ firms strike back at DTI over £2.4bn costs – The Lawyer
“The under-fire law firms representing sick miners in the British Coal compensation fiasco have accused the Government of hypocrisy after its costs topped £2bn.”
The Lawyer, 15th May 2007
Source: www.thelawyer.com
