File-sharing action lawyer suspended for two years

Andrew Crossley, the sole-practitioner who sent hundreds of letters to web users accusing them of illegal file sharing, has been suspended for two years by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.

Crossley, whose firm ACS:Law closed down in February last year, will also have to pay costs of £76, 326.55.

The case was brought by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in August 2010 following complaints by members of the public and consumer organisation Which?

The letters told recipients they had breached copyright and threatened them with legal action unless they paid £500 to close the matter off.

The regulator said Crossley had placed the public's trust in the legal profession at risk, used his position to take advantage of the public, failed to remain independent and knowingly entered into contracts where there was a risk of conflict of interest.

A further allegation of failing to take adequate steps to ensure the appropriate technical and organisational safeguards were in place to protect the firm from loss of data was denied by Crossley and subsequently withdrawn in light of him admitting the other charges.

The SRA said it hoped the ruling would serve as a warning to others.

After shutting down his firm Andrew Crossley applied for 27 contested file-sharing cases brought on behalf of his client, MediaCAT, to be discontinued.

The judge in the case, Judge Birss QC, refused the application, saying the claims were based on "untested legal and factual propositions and issues of technology" that deserved to be scrutinised.

A spokesman for the SRA said: '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. The small minority who are proven to have failed to carry out these duties and therefore breach the code of conduct can expect to face disciplinary action.'

Andrew Crossley has 28 days to appeal the tribunal's ruling from the date the judgement is published.