Litigation Disciplinary Tribunals 11/03/97

John Roger Davis, 45, admitted 1977, practising at material times as Davis & Co, Barkingside, Ilford, Essex, fined £3,500 and ordered to pay £2,314 costs. Also suspended pending compliance with order of Solicitors Complaints Bureau to pay £4,060 to a former client. Allegations substantiated that he failed to comply with decision of SCB. Tribunal said Davis had "misdirected himself in the light of his chagrin following a reduction in his bill of costs" and he had entered upon a course of "prevarication and obduracy".



Oscaar Ka-To-Lai, admitted 1975, practising at material times in Hong Kong and London, struck off and ordered to pay £1,500 costs. Allegations substantiated that in 1992 he was jailed for seven years by High Court of Hong Kong after conviction on five counts of attempting to bribe a public servant. Sentence later reduced to five years on appeal. Tribunal said offences such as those committed by Ka-To-Lai "threatened the entire fabric and system of justice".



Phillippa Dione Cheong, 39, admitted 1988, practising as Martyn W Amey & Co, Erdington, Birmingham, fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £940 costs. Allegations substantiated that she failed to reply to correspondence and comply with direction from Solicitors Complaints Bureau. Tribunal told her failure to reply to correspondence prevented an investigation by the SCB and that she had failed to produce a file for the SCB when asked. Tribunal said it was wholly unacceptable for a solicitor to ignore letters from the SCB.



Katherine Elaine Moss-Davies, 38, admitted 1984, practising as Moss-Davies, Wells, Somerset, fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £695 costs. Allegations substantiated that she failed to reply to correspondence from the Legal Aid Board and failed to deal promptly with correspondence from Solicitors Complaints Bureau. Tribunal said it had sympathy for Moss-Davies' personal difficulties but that failures such as hers caused inconvenience to the profession.