Miners’ compensation solicitors struck off in breach of Solicitors Practice Rules
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has ordered James Beresford and Douglas Smith of Beresfords Solicitors, Doncaster, to be struck off and to pay all costs.
The two solicitors came under fire over their handling of a government compensation scheme for sick and elderly
miners’ compensation claims, from which they made multimillion pound fortunes.
Last month’s hearing found eight of eleven allegations against Beresford and Smith proven, and a ninth partially proven. Th e solicitors were found to have breached Solicitors Practice Rules regarding confl ict of interest between their own interest and the interest of their clients,
to have failed to act in the best interests of their clients, to have entered into a sham agreement with the Union of
Democratic Mineworkers, to have shared their professional fees with a non-solicitor, to have improperly released confi dential
information and to have failed to give their clients sufficient information about costs.
Beresfords Solicitors said, in a statement: “Jim Beresford and Doug Smith continue to strenuously deny all the allegations which relate to matters which arose many
