Scots lawyer receives prison sentence for holding himself out as a solicitor

John O’Donnell, 64, ignored the terms of an interdict granted in 2009 at the Court of Session preventing him form practising for five years after a ruling of the Scottish Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SSDT).

The court previously found Mr O’Donnell guilty, for the third time in his career, of professional misconduct.

Disregarding the terms of the interdict, Mr O’Donnell continued to work, pretending to be another lawyer named Colin Davidson.

Lord Stewart in the Court of Session told Mr O’Donnell, of Glasgow’s west end, that he had no option left but to jail him.

Lord Stewart said: “In order to punish Mr O’Donnell and to deter others, the court must impose a custodial sentence.

“I take on board that there was no criminal motive and that no client suffered any loss.

“However, in order to maintain public confidence in the legal system, I must send you to jail.”

Defence advocate Richard Murphy told the judge his client had suffered mental problems in the past.

He said: “He never intended to return.”

He told the court that Mr O’Donnell will not return to practise and that he would pay a fine.

The order has been suspended for two weeks to enable him to consider an appeal and the matter will call back in court in two weeks time.

The Law Society of Scotland first sought and was granted an interim interdict against Mr O’Donnell in August 2009 to prevent him holding himself out as a solicitor when he was not entitled to practice.

It launched proceedings for a breach of the interdict in 2012.

Lorna Jack, chief executive of the Law Society of Scotland, said the sentence reflected “the seriousness of John O’Donnell’s offence”.

She added: “People often turn to a solicitor at critical times in their lives so to deceive people who need legal advice is a serious abuse of the trust that clients place in their solicitor and goes against every solicitor’s core principles of honesty and integrity.

“It is essential to protect members of the public seeking legal advice and ensure they can continue to put their trust in solicitors. We will always take action against individuals if we have good reason to believe they are misleading people in this way.”

Mr O’Donnell has not held a Law Society of Scotland practising certificate since 2009, which all solicitors require to describe themselves as a solicitor entitled to practice.