Gardai called as 'protest wagon' descends on Law Society offices
GERALD KEAN: The complaint against him was not upheld by the Law Society
Sunday December 16 2007
Gardai had to be called to the Law Society last week after a band of campaigners against the legal profession drove their mobile protest wagon onto its grounds.
The group, called Victims of the Legal Profession Society, staged the protest for two and a half hours before they were finally forced to leave after a showdown at the society's grand headquarters in Blackhall Place, Dublin.
The protest was organised to clash with a meeting of solicitors called by the society's new president, James McGuill, last Monday.
John Gill, the leader of the disparate group of aggrieved clients of solicitors, said he thought the Law Society's grounds were open to the public. Mr Gill was accompanied by a band of supporters, including a brief appearance by Djamel Mennad, whose complaint against Dublin solicitor Gerald Kean was dismissed by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal last month.
Ken Murphy of the Law Society said there was no fracas. "Mr Gill was politely asked to remove (the caravan) from private property," said Mr Murphy, adding that gardai were called when he refused.
The mobile protest wagon is the latest weapon used by Mr Gill in his unorthodox and often defamatory campaign against the legal profession.
Mr Gill said the wagon, currently in "a safe house in Meath", will be taken on a tour of the country, stopping for a few hours in each town "to expose offending solicitors" using a loudspeaker.
His extreme tactics are bound to further offend solicitors. Mr Gill has already been linked to the website, ratemysolicitor.com, a forum for largely anonymous and often personal attacks on solicitors. Last year, he was threatened with jail unless libellous comments about a barrister were removed.
The group was also threatened with legal action for picketing outside a solicitor's office in Kildare earlier this year.
A solicitor's office has also been filmed for a DVD which recounts the stories of those who felt aggrieved with the legal profession, even though some of the complaints were found to be groundless by the Law Society.
They include the case of Djamel Mennad and his wife, who made a complaint against Mr Kean after losing a Circuit Court challenge to retain tenancy of their restaurant premises in Athlone.
The Circuit Court found that the landlords were entitled to reclaim the property. However, Mr Mennad and his wife have complained about the lawyers and judges connected with the case.
The DVD of this and other stories was made by Dr Latif Yahia, an Iraqi living in Ireland who attained notoriety after revealing that he was the former body double of Saddam Hussein's son, Uday. He also filmed the Mennad's appearance at the Solicitor's Disciplinary Tribunal late last month.
They alleged that Mr Kean's firm hadn't given them notification of his legal fees in writing. During the half-day hearing, Mr Kean told the tribunal that he had sent the letter notifying them of fees, and that the couple's legal action had failed simply because the judge did not believe their evidence.
Mr Kean told the tribunal of his surprise at their complaint. After the initial court case, they had thanked him and were grateful for all the work his firm had done for them.
"When the case finished, he was very complimentary of our firm, and had no difficulty with fees," he said.
Mr Kean said that he was still owed money, which had been promised but never received. In 20 years as a solicitor, the tribunal heard, he had never had a problem with a client.
Mrs and Mrs Mennad have said they intend to appeal.
- Maeve Sheehan
