Quote from: iwilcox on May 02, 2013, 10:07:05 AM

A number of those questions remain unaddressed in your reply, but as you've pointed out they're largely a matter for your potential investors, depositors and escrow users to investigate as part of their own due diligence so I won't push you on them. There's one exception; specifically, I'd be interested to see an answer to:

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Please state your exact qualification in law, the certifying body, and where we can find a certificate.

I'd like to break it down a little. It's all really part of the same question, but I'd like to be sure specific parts are asked:

Are you currently a UK solicitor?
If not, were you in the past, and at what time?
Either way, what exact qualification do you hold, from what institution in what country?
More generally: have you stated that you are a lawyer (as in, used the word "lawyer" to describe yourself, as opposed to "solicitor")?
If so, what qualification do you hold that you believe merits the title "laywer"?
If not, why?

I'm making no assertions or claims about you here, and I'm certainly not asserting or claiming that you're not a lawyer or not a solicitor; I'm just asking questions. In the UK, for the protection of consumers, "solicitor" is a protected title. Anyone using that term first needs to be granted a Practising Certificate; to make that claim or use that title in the UK without such a certificate is a criminal offence in its own right. Such certificates are a matter of public record for the protection of consumers. There is one exception: from the page linked above: "the only genuine ones not on there are those who have requested their removal from the database". Please be clear about whether this applies to you, and if so we can cross that bridge next.

In the UK at least, this is not a question on which people are allowed to be cagey or unclear. I'm not implying any right on my part to obtain an answer to this on an Internet forum; just saying that the entire UK can be partitioned into two non-overlapping sets: those who legally have to say they're not a solicitor when asked, and those who legally have to say they are when asked, for whom it's easily verified with public records.

As per previous conversation with you, you are more than welcome to email me with any questions; as opposed to derailing an ongoing /development/ thread.

I will answer though, I am not currently a UK solicitor and have not misrepresented myself as such. I refer to myself as a lawyer as I am legally entitled to do in this country. To clarify, I am not in breach of sections 20 through 23 of The Solicitors Act (1974).

I have the education and training that entitles me to refer to myself as a lawyer, but generally anybody who works in law has such an entitlement. I have not gone around saying, "hi, i'm a solicitor" or carried out reserved work which I am currently not authorised to. I am not being cagey or unclear about this.

You are welcome to email me in regards to any other questions regarding my personal background (including previous legal background and education). This offer also applies to any other interested parties. If you have any questions in regards to platform development, then I will happily respond here.

We are building a solid platform and will continue to do so; but please direct questions regarding the personal backgrounds of staff through the appropriate channels in future.