2 reviews (1/5) and information for Dixon, Raven & Marsdens, Leyland

23/11/14 - Reviewed by Anonymous

Low cost = poor advice.

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19/05/10 - Reviewed by http://www.leyland-guardian.co.uk

A Leyland solicitors office has been forcibly closed after allegations of dishonesty involving its two partners.
Officials from Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) spent a week removing client records from the Towngate offices of Dixon Raven & Marsdens as part of a high-level probe.

Peter Dixon, who ran the firm with his colleague Christopher Raven, has maintained their innocence and said the pair will fight to clear their names.

Dixon Raven & Marsdens has been based in Leyland for 25 years and employed 15 people.

However the SRA say they had to intervene to 'protect the interests of clients or former or potential clients'.

Mr Raven, a father-of-two, has recently resigned as a school governor of Leyland St Mary's because of ill health.

He was unavailable for comment but his partner Mr Dixon said the case had had a devastating impact on both of them.

The solicitor said he was in the process of winding the business down when the bombshell was dropped.

"We both deny that there has been any dishonesty," he said. "Chris Raven has been away for a substantial period of time in the last 12 months because of ill health.

"All the staff had been given redundancy notices before the SRA stepped in and descended on us.

"They removed all the files. It took them a week to take all the files away.

"We're distraught. We expected the SRA would have co-operated with us in the winding down process."

Mr Dixon said they'd not even seen a report into what it is they're alleged to have done wrong.

He added: "People who know us well, know that there is no truth in the allegations."

A sign has now been stuck in the window of the firm's main office in Towngate, which is now closed.

A spokesman for the SRA told the Guardian they were investigating allegations that Mr Dixon and Mr Raven had not complied with the Solicitors' Accounts Rules 1998.

Liverpool firm DWF is now responsible for looking after case files until they are taken on by other solicitors.

No date has yet been set for a further hearing.

Michael Wright, headteacher of Leyland St Mary's, praised the contribution of Mr Raven as a former governor.

"He has been a fantastic servant to the school for the past 18 years - the last 12 of which have been as chairman of governors," he said.

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