Complaint to Cyprus Bar Association

[Janet]

Nigel

I am told that the Cyprus Bar Association have finally decided that a certain law firm in Paralimni have a case to answer for the way they do business.
I have had considerable problems with this law firm myself and now wish to make a formal complaint to the Cyprus Bar Association.
Can you please point me in the right direction for the forms I need to fill in? I do realise that I may have a long wait until they do something but if I sit back and do nothing then we will never get anywhere.

Thanks
Jan

[Nigel Howarth]

Hello Janet and welcome to the forum,

Um - I wonder what that law firm might be - I suspect it might be the one that called me on the phone a couple of weeks ago in a blind panic.

To make a complaint you need to write to the Bar Association's Disciplinary Board, enclosing a cheque for CYP 40. There are no forms to fill in - just write them a letter. You can find further details at:

http://www.cyprusbarassociation.org/ain ... nal_en.php

http://www.cyprusbarassociation.org/exc ... ees_en.php

If you don't get satisfaction from the Bar Association, your next port of call is the Ombudswoman.

Kind regards,

[Janet]

Cheers Nigel.
I didn't get a chance to talk to you at the protest in Paphos about this firm but I'm sure it is the same one.

[Nigel Howarth]

You might think that - but I couldn't possibly comment

Regards,

[callywynne]

Our lawyers in Paphos are taking 2 cases against our developers Kotrona Estates through the courts for return of deposit monies, legal fees and interest, in line with our original contracts.

The off plan properties never received planning permission and didn't get built but the developers have kept our money.

We have already received one judgment against them that they must return our monies.

However, we've heard from another property buyer taking similar action against Kotrona that they have failed to meet payment deadlines under a court judgment made against them last year.

He says the (same) lawyers say they must now go through proceedings to have the land put to auction in order to get any money back.

We think there's a high chance the land won't sell, and the developer will get away with not paying.

Is this possible?

To make matters worse, our lawyers say they won't answer our questions about the likelihood of going to auction and getting the money back, and their fees associated with this, until we've upfront for the court cases.

We're in a catch22 situation. We feel we're being strung along by the lawyers to pay more and more fees, when the reality is that we'll never see any of our money back.

Are the lawyers acting against professional conduct codes in taking this stance and will making a complaint to the Cyprus Bar Association make any difference?

PS They are one of the biggest lawyers in Cyprus.

Thanks for any guidance.
Cally

[Nigel Howarth]

Hello again Cally

Is this a hypothetical question?

The reason I ask is that I see you've asked elsewhere about ceasing your mortgage payments and handing your property over to the bank?

Regards,

[callywynne]

Hi Nigel

Only 2 years and a bit late!

Sorry, I didn't tick to receive a notice that anyone had posted and i guess i never checked back.

The answer: No, it definitely wasn't a hypothetical problem.

My other posting referred to another development that actually did get built. We are still tied in to that and the mortgage.

With Kotrona Estates we are still in the same position. A court judgement against them, but no payment to us.

And still the lawyers are less than helpful.

We never did raise the complaint to the Cyprus Bar, basically because they threatened not continue proceedings for us if we so much as whispered any unhappiness. And they threatened to sue us if we mentioned their name to anyone (hence I'm not posting their name here).

And we definitely do not have the resources to take them on, or to pay more fees to another lawyer. Neat trick on their part.

For all that Cypriot lawyers claim to run on the same "system" as the UK, they definitely do not work to the same ethical standards. In my opinion.

Kind regards, Cally