Scots lawyer who embezzled over £1m struck off

SSDT investigators found David Lyons, 64, had been involved in numerous illegal practices.

Mr Lyons, of Lyons Lains, which was based in Glasgow and Greenock, defrauded his clients consistently by overcharging them and charging them for fees he was not entitled to according to the SSDT.

It also came to light that he had taken a property loan of £1,010,000 from the Bank of Ireland but which he kept for himself.

Mr Lyons, from Inverclyde, did not defend himself. The SSDT concluded: “There was no sign of any remorse or insight into his conduct. He was a clear danger to the public and his conduct was extremely damaging to the reputation of the legal profession. He was clearly not a fit person to continue to be a solicitor.”

Fellow parter Duncan Drummond, 60, was also struck off. He charged £15,700 in one case for work he had undertaken which auditors valued at £2,350.

Another time he billed a client £4,000 for work worth £1,125. He defended himself saying the firm had gotten into financial problems after one of the partners left – leaving the remaining lawyers with a severe debt problem.

A spokeswoman for the Law Society of Scotland said: “We had recognised problems at the firm and had prosecuted both partners before the independent Scottish Solicitors’ Discipline Tribunal in February year.

“Further concerns were identified during an inspection by our financial compliance team in April and May.

“The society then made an application to the Court of Session for the appointment of a judicial factor to investigate the society’s concerns.”

Following that investigation legal chiefs made moves to ban the duo.