James Swift reports:
ACS:Law founder Andrew Crossley has been suspended from practising for two years and ordered to pay £76,326.55 in costs at a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) hearing yesterday (16 January).
Crossley, who is bankrupt and represented himself, admitted six charges levied at him by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) as a result of his firm’s practice of sending threatening letters demanding £500 to people accused of copyright infringement, often involving downloading pornography. The charges included using his position as a solicitor to take or attempt to take advantage of other persons, being recipients of letters of claim either for his own benefit or the benefit of his clients.
Crossley contested a seventh charge, concerning his failure to put safeguards in place to protect against accidental loss of data, but was unsuccessful.
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