Douglas Lamond

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

The Respondent, a retired solicitor, repeatedly failed to respond to correspondence and statutory notices (s48 and s15 Notices) from the Law Society of Scotland regarding a complaint investigation, thereby impeding the Council's statutory function. The Tribunal, proceeding in his absence on affidavit evidence, found him guilty of professional misconduct in breach of Rules B1.9.1 and B1.16. The Tribunal was not convinced the conduct demonstrated lack of integrity (no breach of B1.2) and made no finding of dishonesty. He was censured, fined £750, and found liable in expenses.

Duties found breached:

• Keep client informed and respond promptly
• Complaints procedure and handling

Aggravating factors:

• Course of conduct of repeated failure to cooperate with regulator
• Lack of engagement with the Tribunal
• Lack of insight and remorse
• Impact on reputation of the profession

Mitigating factors:

• No previous conduct findings
• Aged 72 and already retired from practice
• Conduct at lower end of scale of misconduct