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Abstract

The study deals with the range of crimes in which lawyers are involved as natural perpetrators (mainly fraud) or on behalf of third parties (criminal conspiracy and promotion of any form of financial crime related to money laundering). Explains and comments on personal and professional factors that tend to positively or negatively influence the commission of such crimes and the ways in which the academic community has over time contributed to the derogation and regulation of the legal profession. The discussion was a product of secondary research through a comprehensive literature review based on qualitative analysis. It focused on the lawyers (solicitors) of the Common Law with emphasis on England and Wales but also the United States where the comparison could be useful. Legal and regulatory responses to solicitors serious fraud can lead to multiple proceedings against infringers. A comparative review of the regulatory and criminal measures taken against lawyers involved in fraud revealed greater regulatory effectiveness, despite the problems of time-consuming, multiple and parallel proceedings involving civil courts in many jurisdictions. The different objectives of regulatory, criminal and civil proceedings were discussed in depth from both a practical and a philosophical perspective. The ultimate objective was to highlight the most correct and effective legal and regulatory response to legal dishonesty or serious misconduct, which over time tends to escape control and attention, a fact that is confirmed by gaps in the literature. Recommendations of greater emphasizes in regulating modern litigation are given. Effective cooperation between regulators and professionals and better monitoring of the legal markets should be the main prevention pillar. White-Collar-Crime and lawyers’ misconduct should always be approached as a single social problem and keep being in the first priorities of the international law society and criminologists.

Course: Criminal Justice - MSc - C2681F

Date Deposited: 2023-05-03

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis14117.html