Even solicitors know that they have to play within the rules and if they don’t, they face the likelihood of being punished just like anyone else. Given that solicitors should know the law better than most people, they should find it easier to stay within the constraints of the law, but there will be times when people step over the line.This is the case for Elizabeth Cousins, a Brentwood solicitor, who has been banned from acting as a director for a period of five years. She was the former principal partner of the Scannels Hunt company and she has been disqualified due to a non-payment to the crown over a five year period. The debt to the crown stood at over £200,000.
Directors have legal requirements and obligations
The firm was placed into liquidation back in November of 2012 and at this point there was a tax liability to the HMRC of close to £240,000. Cousins has provided the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which means that she is bound for five years, which runs until June 2020. She is also unable to control or manage a firm during this period. The disqualification is due to the fact that Cousins failed to ensure that Scannels Hunt complied with their statutory regulations and that her actions caused it to trade in a detrimental manner with the HMRC.Mark Bruce is the Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service and he released a statement, saying; “The Insolvency Service will rigorously pursue persons who seek to undermine the tax system by attempting to avoid their statutory obligations to HMRC. Limited liability protection is a privilege to ensure businesses trade in an open and fair market. Such protection is only available to those who comply with their obligations. If those obligations are ignored, that protection will be withdrawn.”
Even though solicitors are more likely to be at ease and in understanding of the law than many of their clients, this is a further example of the fact that no one is above the law. You could argue that there are times that solicitors are more likely to push the law to its limits, because they are more comfortable with what is and what isn’t allowed, but there will always be times when professionals overstep the mark or go too far.
Sometimes problems can spiral quickly
It is often the case that people don’t set out to cause trouble in this manner, but very quickly, an issue goes way above their head and they find that they cannot resolve the matter in good time. This is definitely the case with many firms who find that they end up being liquidated. Not paying crown debts is often viewed as a short term solution to financial matters and companies will take this action in the hope that they resolve their problems and have money to spend in the near future. Of course, often the financial problems get worse and not paying crown debts only exacerbates the situation that companies are in. If you are looking to make a problem worse, not paying your main debts is a sure-fire way to do it, but it is something that many professionals overlook or forget about. There will be times when companies have to focus on the short term but this can never come at the expense of long term planning and expertise.When a solicitor of lawyer faces charges like this, there is a need to find a reliable and reputable solicitor firm to represent them. It is easy to see why there will be some reservations about working with particular firms in the industry, and many companies may prefer not to be represented by certain firms. After all, you don’t want to open up all of your secrets to a potential rival but when you face charges of a very serious nature, you can’t really be too fussy or choosy about what sort of representation you have. There is a need to find the most effective, efficient and reliable representation you can find, and this is something that can have the best long term impact.
There are specialist solicitors in all disciplines, even in director disqualification work. No matter what sort of outcome a director is looking for, hiring the best defence team will provide the strongest chance of achieving these aims.
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