Lawyer suspended, ordered to pay fine for letters

The Solicitors' Regulation Authority (SRA) has brought a case against Andrew Crossley, a lawyer who used his firm, ACS: Law, to demand money for allegedly infringing copyrights. The lawyer was ordered by a disciplinary board to pay costs of £76,326.55 (nearly $118,000) and suspended from his profession for two years, the BBC reported.

Crossley was also ordered to pay court costs. The case took two-and-a-half years to reach the Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal. The plaintiff argued Crossley acted in a way that would diminish the public trust in Crossley and the law as a whole. He also allegedly used his position to take unfair advantage of the recipients of his letters for his own benefit, the SRA said.

"We hope that it serves as a warning to others. Solicitors have a trusted position in society and therefore have a duty to act with integrity, independence and in the best interests of their clients," said an SRA spokesperson.

Crossley began his "speculative" compensation plan in May, 2009. Over the course of it, he sent out some 20,000 letters to users who downloaded content without paying for it. He claimed to be acting on behalf of MediaCAT, who represented the copyright owners. The letters threatened legal action unless the recipient paid a fee of about £500 ($770). Many likened it to extortion, since it counted on targets being either unable or unwilling to risk the cost of a trial.

By Electronista Staff