Scotland Against Crooked Lawyers (SACL) is a pressure group, registered as a political party, dedicated to exposing alleged corruption within the Scottish legal profession, Court System, and the Scottish Government. Their stated main aim is to end the system of self-regulation for solicitors in Scotland. Currently conduct complaints against member solicitors are handled by the Law Society of Scotland with other complaints being dealt with by the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission, with independent adjudication provided by the Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman.
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Cause of complaint
Scotland Against Crooked Lawyers state that "Of all the professions that have evolved in our society, none have ever come close to matching the legal profession for downright deceit and dishonesty. The legal profession is immutable, intransigent, self-protective, unaccountable, incompetent and corrupt. For over 500 years this profession has been tyrannising, misleading and oppressing the Scottish people." [1]
Website
The group previously hosted a website where they featured a "rogues gallery", posting details of lawyers that the group alleged were corrupt. In 2004 their US-based internet service provider had some pressure applied to them and switched the group's website off.
Politics
The group fielded two candidates at the Scottish Parliament election, 2007. Having only attracted a small number of votes, the group lost their deposit for the two candidates it fielded, then failed in their attempt to bring a small claim against Edinburgh City Council for that amount. In the United Kingdom general election, 2010 the party registered a man, Robert Green , from Warrington as a candidate for Aberdeen South, despite him having bail conditions that prohibited him from entering the city.
They were among 462 parties registered at the United Kingdom general election, 2015
Protests
Members of Scotland Against Crooked Lawyers hold regular protests outside the Scottish Parliament buildings at Holyrood, as well as other locations such as the Law Society of Scotland main office in Drumsheugh Gardens, and outside the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in Chambers Street, all in Edinburgh.
Leading members
SACL leading members include prominent legal campaigner Stuart Usher, of the Usher Distillery Family. The Usher family were well known for their generosity to Scottish charitable causes, including Usher Hall in Edinburgh.