PROFESSIONSLaw Society's powers to intervene in solicitor's practice - money paid to solicitors vesting in Law Society for full period of resolution - Law Society not obliged or entitled to recover outstanding sums - solicitor not entitled to unsupervised access to files or to payment of disbursements out of recoveries Dooley v Law Society: ChD (Mr Justice Lightman): 23 November 2001The claimant was a solicitor.

The compliance and supervision committee of the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors resolved under section 35 of and schedule 1 to the Solicitors Act 1974 to intervene in the claimant's practice on the ground of suspected knowing and dishonest involvement in bank instruments fraud and money laundering.

The claimant applied to the court for determination of the questions, among other things, when money had to have been held by the claimant for it to vest in the Law Society, whether the Law Society had the right or was under an obligation to recover money payable to the claimant, whether the claimant was entitled to unsupervised access to the files, and whether disbursements could be paid out of any realisations.Jonathan Crystal (instructed by Farrer & Co) for the claimant.

Stephen Rubin QC (instructed by Wright Son & Pepper) for the defendant.Held that the relevant date at which money must have been held by the claimant for it to vest in the Law Society was the date of the resolution, and the full period thereafter while it remained in force, which gave effect to paragraph 6(1) of part II of schedule 1 to the Solicitors Act 1974, without emasculating the statutory protection provided; that the Law Society had no right, and was under no obligation to recover money payable to the claimant, and it was for the claimant alone to commence and pursue proceedings for recovery of debts; that affording the claimant only supervised access to documents seemed, in any ordinary case, to reflect a fair and reasonable balance of the Law Society's primary concern to protect the interests of the solicitor's former clients and the claimant's interest in obtaining access to the files; and that the claimant had no right to payment of disbursements out of recoveries, except where there was an agreement with the Law Society to do so.