Sections
(1) Introduction
The four elements of my case: the courts, lawyers,
their professional associations and Legal Services
Ombudsman are combined together because I have
now concluded - based on the evidence from my
very extensive first-hand experience - that they
act in tandem across the board. A shocking
statement - I know.
(Subsequent note, at October 2008: I have just come across an article in the Daily Telegraph of 5 April 2001, "Yesterday in Parliament". It reports "Austin Mitchell (Labour) said..."In law, the practice of the mafia regulating the mafia has failed, is failing and needs to be abolished. He said the Lord Chancellor's department had taken on the role of protecting vested interests and was in collusion with the Law Society". It's good to know that somebody else arrived at the same conclusion).
Six years ago, before this very traumatic,
horrendous nightmare happened, I had never
had any dealings with courts, nor lawyers
(except the ('fatal') time when I bought
the lease on my flat). I
must stress that the perceptions I then
held of the legal sector overall were diametrically
opposed to the perceptions I now have:
A THOROUGHLY VILE SECTOR
As a reasonable, fair minded visitor to the
site, I believe that, once you have familiarised
yourself with the - black on white evidence -
you will, at a minimum, understand why I hold
this view.
'At a minimum' as, if you have had dealings
with the legal sector in England, I hope it was
a happy experience (and hence you were not: (1) one
of the yearly 18,000+ people who bother to complain
to the Law Society against a solicitor; (2) one
of the several hundreds who bother to complain
to the Bar Council on a yearly basis against
a barrister; (3) one of the xxx ?? who complain to the court service in relation to the courts).
Of course, I do recognise
that 'somewhere
out there', lost among the thoroughly vile
lawyers - and judges - the sector includes some highly
competent, true professionals with the
utmost level of integrity. (In the same way that
they exist in another very poorly perceived sector:
surveyors)
Unfortunately, they appear to be a dying breed - and are certainly not speaking up in opposition to the currently appalling state of the sector. Why not? The logical conclusion is that malpractice is the norm. Indeed, if professional conduct was the norm, unprofessional conduct would be treated as deviant behaviour, and therefore condemned.
As a Reader of The Times newspaper wrote: "My father used to say that the mafia never got a foothold in this country because our legal system was more corrupt than they were. Now I know what he meant!" (My Diary 12 April 2007)
An acquaintance who worked in the English
courts for several years, dealing with
solicitors and barristers on a daily basis,
once told me:
" The
chances of finding an honest lawyer these
days are one in a million. "
While
it is clearly an exaggeration, I nonetheless
consider it as an informed view.
In light of my very comprehensive first-hand
experience with the sector, I fully endorse Sir
David Clementi 's conclusions following
his review of the legal profession (as
reported in the Financial
Times of
16 December 2004)
"The current regulatory system
is flawed."
"It has insufficient regard to the
interests of consumers"
"...I am not satisfied that the
main frontline bodies have always
put consumer interests ahead of their own
interests."
If you look at the following websites:
'Scotland
Against Crooked Lawyers' (SACL) (http://www.sacl.info) (Also provides links to other sites e.g. Dunblane Unburied (http://www.dunblaneunburied.tk) - referred to in My Diary 3 March 2007) ( In the same entry, I refer to the case of a Scottish lawyer who ended-up being ostracised by the Scottish Law Society, apparently, for taking on cases of injustice).
Legal Bullies - http://www.legalbullies.co.uk
Unjustis - http://www.unjustis.co.uk
Crooked Lawyers - http://www.crookedlawyers.com (Ireland)
'Rate-your-solicitor.com' (set at .net ) (Still?)
you will
see that it is not just England where
consumers can end-up getting a very raw
deal indeed. On the upside, it is good to see that the 'uprising' is sprouting all over the place.
Following the findings from the review by Sir
David Clementi, the Legal Services Bill proposes
setting-up a Legal
Services Board with, it 'seems', some 'teeth'.
As can be seen in The
Times article of 25
July 2006 , the head of the Law Society
is strongly opposed to this calling
it "truly
scary" (I bet!) and that "if
a regulator is given a power, it
will use it" (Heuh...yes, that's'
the idea!)
She is also concerned about the proposed "extensive
powers for the lay-dominated board" .
She had been given reassurances by the then 'clan's
big chief', Lord Falconer, " that
it was intended to be light-touch regulation
but instead we have Model A (the most heavy)
by the backdoor"
Reading this means that I am not holding my
breath as I fear that we are going to end-up
with a re-sprayed version of the existing system.
Back to list
(B) Overview of the sections
(1) Cawdery Kaye Fireman and Taylor (CKFT) & Law
Society
(NB: CKFT is covered in my 3 June 2008 (74 pg) Witness Statement; (4 pg) Main Points)
Cawdery Kaye Fireman & Taylor, in particular Mr Lanny Silverstone, Partner,
and Ms Ayesha Salim, Assistant Solicitor, have
identified that Mr Andrew David Ladsky is their
client.
For example, this is stated in an identical
letter written by Ms Salim to Leaseholder
A and Leaseholder
B , dated 11 October 2001.
It can also
be seen, for example, in the 7
October 2002 letter sent to me by
Mr Lanny Silverstone in which he - illegally
- threatened to forfeit my lease. This
letter has the reference 'LAD'; the 1
July 2004 Consent Order has, likewise
the reference 'LAD'.
By sending his 28 November 2002 letter to my employer, and one to me of the same date, following my 24 October 2002 fax to K&C Housing and 24 October 2002 fax to the LVT (detail in My Diary 15 May 2008), Mr Lanny Silverstone confirmed the connection between Mr Ladsky and Steel Services.
Furthermore, CKFT acted for Mr Arthur Ladsky,
instructing counsel, in the TSB
Bank v. Arthur Ladsky 1996 Court of Appeal
case. Messrs Andrew
Ladsky and Arthur
Ladsky were both directors of Combined
Mercantile Securities.
(See Directorships for related information)
(I do not know whether CKFT acted for Mr Andrew
Ladsky in the case reported in the article in
the Sunday
Times (printscreen of site), referring to a relationship he
had with a model that "culminated in a
court battle over a floor-length sheepskin
coat and two paintings" )
Cawdery Kaye Fireman & Taylor has identified itself as acting for Steel
Services (Owners Identity; Headlessors # 1 ) - as evidenced in numerous documents,
including the Particulars
of claim for the 29
November 2002 - false - claim filed
in West London
County Court (ref: WL 203537).
It acted for Steel Services prior to 2002, as
can be seen in Ms Hathaway's 15
October 2001 reply to Nucleus, (local
Citizen Advice Bureau) who gave CKFT's address
as contact (Owners identity # 1 )
At the 29
October 2002 LVT pre-trial hearing when
Mr Andrew Ladsky was asked by the Chair what
his interest was in the proceedings, he replied: "I
am just a tenant" . (My Diary 10 October 2002 )
However, throughout
the four-day hearing Mr Ladsky was
a member of Steel Services party, holding frequent
discussions with: Mr Warwick, Steel Services'
counsel (My Diary 13 March 2003 ; LVT # 8.2 ), Mr Brian
Gale , Steel Services surveyor and
Ms Joan Hathaway, MRICS, Martin
Russell Jones , 'managing'
agents for the block.
(In spite of seeing this, the tribunal continued
to use Mr Ladsky's initial answer - as can be
seen in its 17
June 2003 report under point 4 "attended
by.Mr A Ladsky, the owner of flats 34 and 35 ",
as well as under point 50
"It is noted
that apparently the majority of the tenants
wish all the works to be carried out. A letter
from Mr Ladsky, the lessee of flats 34 and
35 dated 28 April 2003 stated: "31 or 32 of
the 35 tenants have paid their contribution." )
In the context of the several
transactions probably best described as further 'carving
out' and 'reshuffling' in the named owners of
Jefferson House which took place late 2005 and
early 2006 (see Freehold
ownership , Headlessors , Owners
identity ), CKFT became the nominated
solicitors for 'Steel Services' on the Land Registry
(Title NGL
373 333 ) - in the process taking over from Laytons, solicitors, London EC4Y 0LS.
Other evidence:
The 2002 and 2003 summary of contributions
I received from the ICAEW with its 29
August 2006 letter, show that flat
34 and flat
35 have not paid
any contribution. (NB: However, according to the ICAEW, some undetailed contributions in the 2004 year-end accounts were paid for flats owned by Mr Ladsky - See Pridie Brewster # 18 )
In 2002, I approached the Tenancy Relations Officer at Kensington & Chelsea Housing to obtain, as per my statutory rights (under Sections 1 and 2 of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 ), the identity of the
landlord, as well as the name and address
of every director and secretary of the
landlord. In his 5 November 2002 email, the Tenancy Relations Officer informed me that he had
"...received a telephone call from Mr Ladsky. He has asked for copies of all correspondence that you have sent me"
(The next day, 6 November 2002, the Tenancy Relations Officer sent me an email saying: "...we will not be releasing any documents to Mr Ladsky. The councils legal department believes you are entitled to a degree of confidentiality when you have sought assistance from us and this is why we have taken this decision")
It follows that Mr Andrew Ladsky and
Steel Services are one and the same client
of CKFT. (Denial of this would lead
to the conclusion that CKFT has a very serious
conflict of interest)
This sub-section contains my 20
December 2004 complaint to the Law Society
against CKFT, as well as the Law Society's
reply of 8
February 2005 and mine of 19
February 2005 .
The 11
July 2005 reply from the Legal
Services Ombudsman to my complaint
against the Law Society of 20
February 2005 , and mine of 1
August 2005 are discussed
under the Legal Services Ombudsman.
Outcome of my complaints?
Law Society's 8 February 2005 reply:
"...I am not in a position to take any of your concerns any further"
Following my 19 February 2005 letter challenging its decision, the Law Society replied on 17 March 2005:
"...read through your letter and do not believe that I can add anything further over and above what is cited in my letter of 8 February 2005."
Legal Services Ombudsman on 11 July 2005:
"In the circumstances take the view that the Law Society's response was satisfactory and that their decision to close their file was justified."
HOORAY FOR SELF-REGULATION!
See Document library for sequence of correspondence
Back to list
(2) Piper Smith & Basham/Watton (PSB) & Law
Society
(NB: Piper Smith Basham is covered in my 3 June 2008 (74 pg) Witness Statement; (4 pg) Main Points)
Piper Smith Basham (now known as Piper Smith
Watton) was my nominated firm of solicitors from
the end of August 2003 until December 2003 i.e. the firm that was meant to 'act for me'. My main
contact was Ms Lisa McLean, Litigation Assistant,
who had a reporting line to Mr Richard Twyman,
Partner.
This (long) sub-section refers to numerous correspondences
between myself, the firm and the Law Society
over a 12-month period. It includes my initial
complaint to the firm of 2
December 2003 . Its reply of 18
December 2003 , followed by mine of 24
January 2004 and its 30
January 2004 response.
This was
followed by my 16
March 2004 complaint to the Law
Society and thereafter, exchange
of several correspondences - detailed
in the section.
Subsequent events with the Legal Services Ombudsman
are comprised under the Legal
Services Ombudsman section - resulting in a refusal, dated 12
May 2005 , to consider my 5
December 2004 complaint against the
Law Society, on the ground that "your
referral to my Office is premature ".
I sent a reply dated 22
May 2005 .
Events preceding the refusal
are quite fascinating. (I opted
to not go back to the Law Society and waste any
more of my time).
See Document library for sequence of correspondence
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(3) Mr Stan Gallagher & Bar Council
(NB: Mr Stan Gallagher is covered in my 3 June 2008 (74 pg) Witness Statement; (4 pg) Main Points)
Mr Stan Gallagher, Arden Chambers, was my nominated
barrister in relation to the reply to the 'offer'
made by 'Steel Services' on 21
October 2003, giving a 13 November 2003
deadline. Hence, as in the case of Piper Smith Basham/Watton was meant to 'act for me'.
This (long) sub-section contains correspondences
between myself, Mr Gallagher, his firm and the
Bar Council - over an 18-month period. Among
others, it includes my initial complaint to Mr
Gallagher of 20
January 2004 , my 5
April 2004 complaint to the Bar Council,
its decision of 27
January 2005
"Having considered the matter carefully the Committee was not satisfied that there is any realistic prospect of a finding of professional misconduct against Mr Gallagher or that he provided you with inadequate professional service when advising you on the landlord's offer. The complaint was accordingly dismissed"
And my
reply of 25
March 2005 .
On 25
March 2005 I filed a complaint with the Legal Services Ombudsman against the Bar Council.
This, and subsequent events, which include
a fascinating display of U-turns and pirouettes by the Bar Council and the Legal Services Ombudsman are covered at the end of the section on Mr
Gallagher, and more comprehensively under the
Legal Services
Ombudsman from whom I received
a reply dated 30
August 2005:
"I take the view that the Bar Council's response to your complaint namely that you failed to disclose a sufficient case of professional misconduct or of inadequate professional service against Mr Gallagher, was satisfactory and that their decision to close their file was justified for the reasons given in their letter dated 27 January 2005"
HOORAY FOR SELF-REGULATION!
See Document library for sequence of correspondence, and Abbreviations / Definitions for a summary of events with Mr Gallagher
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(4) Portner and Jaskel LLP / Portner
(NB: Portner and Jaskel is covered in my 3 June 2008 (74 pg) Witness Statement; (4 pg) Main Points)
Portner and Jaskel, trading as 'Portner' since June/July 2008, has confirmed in its 3 October 2006 letter to my then ISP that its client is Mr Andrew Ladsky (My Diary 3 October 2006).
Other evidence proving the link between Mr Ladsky and Steel Services is the February 2002 claim filed by Portner and Jaskel, in the name of Steel Services, against a then 74-year old leaseholder at Jefferson Jefferson - see Elderly Resident
Very clearly, Mr Ladsky is the person behind Portner and Jaskel's 'other client', Rootstock Overseas Corp (Portner # 3 , # 6 , # 15 , # 27 ; Headlessors # 3 ,# 5 , # 6 , # 7 )
For detail of events with this London-based
firm of solicitors, see the section on Portner and Jaskel. Some of the events are also covered in other parts of the site:
- ...and, after a 16-month battle, on 6 June 2008, Portner's client, Mr Ladsky, dropped "ALL" of the claim against me - see Portner from point # 29 , evidence that this (2nd) claim against me was fraudulent
See Portner and Jaskel points # 4 and # 5 / My Diary 27 February 2007 , 13 March 2007 , 17 March 2007 , 12 April 2007 in relation to my 28 February 2007 complaint to the Law Society against Portner and Jaskel, leading to the 30 March 2007 reply:
"I am unable to conclude that the firm has breached any of the rules of conduct and my file is now closed"
A case of 'plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose' with the Law Society.
HOORAY FOR SELF-REGULATION!
See Document library for the sequence of correspondence in 2006, and subsequently
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(5) Legal Services Ombudsman (LSO)
(NB: The Legal Services Ombudsman is covered in my 3 June 2008 (74 pg) Witness Statement; (4 pg) Main Points)
I referred three complaints to the Legal
Services Ombudsman: two against the Law Society, and one
against the Bar Council. The section contains
the replies, as well as 'noteworthy' events (especially
if this Office were to be transferred 'lock,
stock, and barrel' under the 'new' complaints
handling system - and with the same overall head
i.e. Lord Falconer of
Thoroton).
You will see that (bar some laughable hesitations
by the Law Society in relation to my complaint
against Piper Smith & Basham - as well as the insulting overall assessment), my complaints
against the two firms and the barrister were
NOT upheld - including by the Legal Services
Ombudsman.
Although not a lawyer, I strongly believe
that I have a valid complaint against
all three: Cawdery Kaye Fireman & Taylor, Piper
Smith Basham and
Mr Stan Gallagher. It does not require being a genius to see that.
Fair minded, reasonable visitor to the
site, I believe you will arrive at the same
conclusion once you have seen the comprehensive
evidence - even if, like me, you are not a
lawyer.
(Although each sub-section contains numerous
extracts from documents as a means of substantiating
my claims, as everywhere else on this site, all
are linked to the source document, including
providing the location in the document).
See Document library for sequence of correspondence
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(6) West London County Court
(NB: West London County Court is covered in my 3 June 2008 (74 pg) Witness Statement; (4 pg) Main Points)
When I launched this website, my dealings with West London County Court spanned from the end of 2002 to the summer of 2004. Events since then have led me to add another section (see below)
This section contains:
A comprehensive overview of the
sequence of events following the - FALSE - claim,
ref WL
203 537 , drawn-up by Cawdery Kaye Fireman & Taylor , and filed on behalf of 'Steel Services'
by Ms Joan Hathaway, MRICS, Martin
Russell Jones,
against me and 10 other leaseholders (1.1MB), on 29 November
2002 - under a Statement of Truth (see My Diary 9 March 2007 for the fact that this amounts to a very serious breach of CPR)
Extracts from the correspondence
I have exchanged with / sent to the court
Towards, the end of the section,
the Law Society's comments in relation
to the court - in
the context of my complaint against CKFT. Among others, I draw your attention to my Defence and seven letters to the courts
My complaint against this court in 2004 is covered under Lord Falconer of Thoroton
There is a shorter version at the beginning
of the section for the visitor who does not have
much time.
See Document library for the sequence of correspondence
You will see from the above section that my experience with this court between 2002 - 2004 was very traumatic.
Well, 'courtesy' of Portner and Jaskel and its client “Rootstock Overseas Corp, Steel Services (Headlessors # 3 and # 5) , et. al (Directorships)” - for which it identified Mr Andrew Ladsky as contact (*), since March 2007, I am being treated to another round of horrendous torment, anguish and distress.
(*) As stated earlier on, Portner and Jaskel has confirmed in its 3 October 2006 letter to my then website host that its client is Mr Andrew Ladsky. (See also My Diary 3 October 2006)
This section contains:
A comprehensive overview of events since the filing of - yet again, another fraudulent claim against me - on 27 February 2007, ref 7WL 00675
The complaint I filed against this court in November 2007, and the replies. Comparing the outcome to when I filed a complaint against this court in 2004 it amounts to another example of 'plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose'.
See Document library for the sequence of correspondence
Back to list
(7) Wandsworth County Court
I have had dealings with Wandsworth
County Court in June-July 2004.
These dealings include several points
of note, in particular - based on evidence - what
I view as the perpetuation of injustice.
They are captured principally under the
West London County
Court sub-section.
Back to list
(8) Lord Falconer of Thoroton
(NB: Lord Falconer is covered in my 3 June 2008 (74 pg) Witness Statement; (4 pg) Main Points)
This sub-section covers a 'cry for help' letter I sent to Lord Falconer on 29
June 2004 (when he was then heading the (then) Department for Constitutional Affairs), on which I copied the then
minister for the courts, as well as the then
minister for Human Rights, and the reply I
received from the Court
Service, two months
later (dated 23
August 2004 ) - which I view as:
"We are the law. You can't do anything against us. So, get lost!"
Fair minded, reasonable visitor to the
site, I believe that once you have gone through
these sub-sections, you will have no difficulty
accepting my statement in the introduction
to the site that 'there is no avenue open to
me for justice and redress on this island'.
Furthermore, that you will then view
my visual and summary for this page as: 'fair
comment'.
ALL OF THE ABOVE CAUSED ME TO DEVELOP
THIS WEBSITE.
THIS OUTCOME IS OF THEIR
OWN DOING .
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