Solicitor walks free from court

Mr Sutherland-Fisher stood trial twice on the charges

The trial of a solicitor accused of embezzling more than £200,000 of clients' funds has ended with a formal not guilty verdict.

Mark Sutherland-Fisher walked free from court after a sheriff agreed with a defence submission that there was no case to answer.

Mr Sutherland-Fisher, 39, denied embezzling £201,102 while serving as sole partner in the firm of Duncan and Duncan, which had offices in Dingwall in Ross-shire and Golspie in Sutherland.

It was alleged the embezzlement took place between 1 May, 1995, and 14 November, 1997. The case was heard in Stonehaven to ensure jurors would have no knowledge of the case.

Last year, the prominent lawyer, a former branch chairman with the Ross-shire Tory party, and a former chairman of Highland League side Brora Rangers FC, was tried on the same charges.

After five months of evidence, the Crown had to abandon temporarily the trial when the solitor's defence counsel became ill and could not continue with the case.

'Great deal of stress'

Following the outcome of the second trial, Mr Sutherland-Fisher's solicitor, Craig Wood, said: "My client has been through a great deal of stress during the course of the two trials and is very pleased with the result."

The case ended after defence advocate Bill McVicar submitted that the evidence heard by the jury over the past four weeks was irrelevant to the crime of embezzlement.

The motion was granted by Sheriff David Kelbie.

Earlier in the day, procurator-fiscal depute, Anne MacDonald, asked Sheriff Kelbie for permission to desert the case until another date, but this was refused.

The complex case has been dogged with difficulty, and last week Miss MacDonald was granted an adjournment to seek advice from the Crown Office, which oversees Scottish prosecutions.

Removed from roll

The prosecution followed an investigation by the Law Society of Scotland into Duncan and Duncan's accounts.

A spokeswoman for the Law Society said: "The society will consider the result of the case carefully before deciding how to proceed."

Mr Sutherland-Fisher's name was suspended from the Roll of Solicitors in Scotland in September 1998 because his practising certificate had lapsed and he had not renewed his fees.

It is now likely that the Council of the Law Society of Scotland will consider the case at one of its monthly meetings, and may refer it to the Scottish solicitors' discipline tribunal.