Glanville Davies affair
Encyclopedia
The Glanville Davies affair was a scandal in the English legal profession which resulted in greater reform of the regulatory processes for solicitor
s and was one of the justifications for the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990
. Glanville Davies was a well-respected solicitor and a member of the Council of the Law Society of England and Wales
who massively overcharged his client, Leslie Persons, sending him a bill for £197,000 that was reduced on taxation
to £67,000. Davies was not punished by the Law Society's internal regulatory committees, which allowed him to resign from the council on the grounds of ill-health with his reputation intact. Following litigation and public criticism, the Law Society commissioned an internal report that found "administrative failures, wrong decisions, mistakes, errors of judgement, failures in communication and insensitivity". A private member's bill
reformed the way in which the Law Society investigated disciplinary complaints, although not to the extent initially proposed, and paved the way for the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990
that created an independent disciplinary body.
and member of the Council of the Law Society of England and Wales
, the solicitors' professional body. Davies had charged Parsons £197,000 for legal services, a "grossly inflated and inaccurate legal bill". Parsons complained to the Law Society repeatedly from 1976 to 1982; despite this, the Law Society took no disciplinary action, allowing Davies to resign from the Council on grounds of ill-health with his reputation intact.. Parsons finally brought legal action against Davies in 1982, and on 18 November, Anthony McCowan
of the High Court of Justice
reduced the bill to £67,000. McCowan also said that Davies was "guilty of at least gross and persistent misconduct" and recommended that he be struck off. On 24 October 1983, Vinelott J
struck Davies from the roll of solicitors.
The Law Society asked Coopers & Lybrand to produce a report on the Law Society, which included its disciplinary topics among the areas to be reported on. The draft report, published in 1984, recommended that the Law Society should transfer its disciplinary processes to an independent Solicitor's Complaints Board, which would be made up of both solicitors and lay people (although with a majority of its members being solicitors). In 1985 the National Consumer Council published a survey showing that only 15% of respondents felt that the Law Society should be investigating complaints, and only 5% felt that if an independent body was created it should contain a solicitor majority, with 36% wanting equal representation of solicitors and lay people and 55% preferring a majority of lay people.
introduced a private member's bill
named the Solicitors (Independent Complaints Procedure) Bill on 12 February 1985, which would move the responsibility of regulating the solicitors profession to a body outside the Law Society. Professional opinion was split on this – the National Consumer Council, Legal Action Group and many of the smaller law societies supported the proposal, while larger law societies and the Law Society of England and Wales opposed it.
The Law Society of England and Wales persuaded Coopers & Lybrand to include an alternate reform proposal in their report, and after pressure from the Law Society, and several of the larger regional societies, the alternate proposal was used. This was far weaker than the original proposal, and kept the responsibility of regulating the solicitors' profession within the Law Society but increased the separation of functions within the Society and required that the majority of the people on regulatory committees be lay people
(not solicitors). The events surrounding this scandal have been directly linked to the reforms pushed through in the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990
, which created an independent disciplinary body for solicitors.
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
s and was one of the justifications for the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990
Courts and Legal Services Act 1990
The Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the legal profession and Courts of England and Wales...
. Glanville Davies was a well-respected solicitor and a member of the Council of the Law Society of England and Wales
Law Society of England and Wales
The Law Society is the professional association that represents the solicitors' profession in England and Wales. It provides services and support to practising and training solicitors as well as serving as a sounding board for law reform. Members of the Society are often consulted when important...
who massively overcharged his client, Leslie Persons, sending him a bill for £197,000 that was reduced on taxation
Taxation of costs
Taxation of costs, now known as Detailed Assessment in English law following the Civil Procedure Act 1998, is a ministerial function performed by a court upon the resolution of case. It involves entering the various costs and their amounts against the party against whom those costs have been...
to £67,000. Davies was not punished by the Law Society's internal regulatory committees, which allowed him to resign from the council on the grounds of ill-health with his reputation intact. Following litigation and public criticism, the Law Society commissioned an internal report that found "administrative failures, wrong decisions, mistakes, errors of judgement, failures in communication and insensitivity". A private member's bill
Private Member's Bill
A member of parliament’s legislative motion, called a private member's bill or a member's bill in some parliaments, is a proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature. In most countries with a parliamentary system, most bills are proposed by the government, not by individual members of the...
reformed the way in which the Law Society investigated disciplinary complaints, although not to the extent initially proposed, and paved the way for the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990
Courts and Legal Services Act 1990
The Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the legal profession and Courts of England and Wales...
that created an independent disciplinary body.
Background
In 1982, Leslie Parsons filed a complaint against Glanville Davies, a respected solicitorSolicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
and member of the Council of the Law Society of England and Wales
Law Society of England and Wales
The Law Society is the professional association that represents the solicitors' profession in England and Wales. It provides services and support to practising and training solicitors as well as serving as a sounding board for law reform. Members of the Society are often consulted when important...
, the solicitors' professional body. Davies had charged Parsons £197,000 for legal services, a "grossly inflated and inaccurate legal bill". Parsons complained to the Law Society repeatedly from 1976 to 1982; despite this, the Law Society took no disciplinary action, allowing Davies to resign from the Council on grounds of ill-health with his reputation intact.. Parsons finally brought legal action against Davies in 1982, and on 18 November, Anthony McCowan
Anthony McCowan
Sir Anthony James Denys McCowan QC PC was a British barrister and judge of the High Court of Justice and Court of Appeal best known for trying the case of Clive Ponting in 1985. After studying at Epsom College he won a scholarship to study history at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he switched to...
of the High Court of Justice
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
reduced the bill to £67,000. McCowan also said that Davies was "guilty of at least gross and persistent misconduct" and recommended that he be struck off. On 24 October 1983, Vinelott J
John Vinelott
Sir John Evelyn Vincent Vinelott was a leading barrister at the Chancery bar and an English High Court judge in the Chancery Division from 1978 to 1994....
struck Davies from the roll of solicitors.
Investigation
Following the start of litigation, an investigation by the Lay Observer and the Law Society itself (which became known as the Ely Report) highlighted "an appalling catalogue of errors, insensitivity and poor judgment" in the handling of the Davies Affair by the Law Society internal disciplinary organisation. The report found "administrative failures, wrong decisions, mistakes, errors of judgement, failures in communication and insensitivity... the whole affair was a disgrace to the Society". The Society paid compensation to Parsons for their mishandling of the situation and said that they would compensate victims of similar cases where they had failed to investigate complaints with reasonable care.The Law Society asked Coopers & Lybrand to produce a report on the Law Society, which included its disciplinary topics among the areas to be reported on. The draft report, published in 1984, recommended that the Law Society should transfer its disciplinary processes to an independent Solicitor's Complaints Board, which would be made up of both solicitors and lay people (although with a majority of its members being solicitors). In 1985 the National Consumer Council published a survey showing that only 15% of respondents felt that the Law Society should be investigating complaints, and only 5% felt that if an independent body was created it should contain a solicitor majority, with 36% wanting equal representation of solicitors and lay people and 55% preferring a majority of lay people.
Aftermath
As a result of this and similar controversies, Alf DubsAlf Dubs
Alfred Dubs, Baron Dubs is a Czech-born British Labour Party politician and former Member of Parliament.- Youth and education :...
introduced a private member's bill
Private Member's Bill
A member of parliament’s legislative motion, called a private member's bill or a member's bill in some parliaments, is a proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature. In most countries with a parliamentary system, most bills are proposed by the government, not by individual members of the...
named the Solicitors (Independent Complaints Procedure) Bill on 12 February 1985, which would move the responsibility of regulating the solicitors profession to a body outside the Law Society. Professional opinion was split on this – the National Consumer Council, Legal Action Group and many of the smaller law societies supported the proposal, while larger law societies and the Law Society of England and Wales opposed it.
The Law Society of England and Wales persuaded Coopers & Lybrand to include an alternate reform proposal in their report, and after pressure from the Law Society, and several of the larger regional societies, the alternate proposal was used. This was far weaker than the original proposal, and kept the responsibility of regulating the solicitors' profession within the Law Society but increased the separation of functions within the Society and required that the majority of the people on regulatory committees be lay people
Layman
A layperson or layman is a person who is not an expert in a given field of knowledge. The term originally meant a member of the laity, i.e. a non-clergymen, but over the centuries shifted in definition....
(not solicitors). The events surrounding this scandal have been directly linked to the reforms pushed through in the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990
Courts and Legal Services Act 1990
The Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the legal profession and Courts of England and Wales...
, which created an independent disciplinary body for solicitors.