A solicitor got a dressing down from a Sheriff after he snubbed her demand for him to attend her court earlier this week.
Aberdeen lawyer Mike Allan was summoned to Invreness Sheriff Court yesterday by Sheriff Margaret Neilson – but she decided against holding him in contempt of court as he apologised from the dock.
But she gave him a stern rebuke, telling Allan: “Do not treat my court in such a cavalier fashion in future.”
Allan was ordered for the second time to appear personally before Sheriff Neilson after he failed to answer her order to turn up to represent a client on Monday..
Instead, Mr Allan sent one of the firm’s partners, Keidra Morrison and he blamed her for his non-appearance.
It was the third time that Mr Allan had been absent when the case against 45 year old Murdoch Fraser of Brimmondside, Bucksburn was called.
On the first occasion several weeks ago, Mr Allan contacted the court to say he had been involved in a road accident and would not be there.
On the second occasion on August 25, there was no communication to the court and he was ordered to appear personally on Monday, after the Sheriff was assured he was available.
But Allan ignored the demand and told the Sheriff that he had instead gone to Peterhead on Friday to handle an urgent bail application for a client, after Ms Morrison had refused to do it.
The Sheriff told him: “I have no interest in internal squabbles. You weren’t here when you were told to be.”
Allan responded: “I apologise. I did not mean any disrespect.”
As he left court, the solicitor said: “I apologised and I accept what the Sheriff had to say.”
Last year, Mr Allan was the target of a scathing attack by Traffic Commissioner Joan Aitken and was found by the Scottish Solicitors Discipline Tribunal to have brought the profession into disrepute following its own investigation. It fined him £1,000 and ordered him to pay the expenses.
Munro & Sons Ltd was shut down after the 24-year-old was crushed to death when a 30-tonne digger rolled off a transporter and hit the car in which she was a passenger in Easter Ross.
He denied that he was allowing Munros to continue operating under his name through his own transport company.
But following a lengthy investigation and public inquiry, Ms Aitken found that he was helping the banned company operate undercover.
She criticised the lawyer for duping her and for furthering the business interests of people she had taken off the road to protect the public.
Mr Allan said he refused to accept that he had ever done anything wrong, and that he was never given a proper schance to plead his case.