Information For Previous Clients Of McClure Solicitors Glasgow

As noted above, previous clients of McClure should be reassured that, any Will or Power of Attorney held by McClure at the time of its administration, are safely stored and accessible by Jones Whyte should you require them.

Yes, there is no risk to your funds previously held by McClure.

All law firms in the UK are subject to strict safe-guarding regulations to ensure client funds are ’ring fenced’ in a separate ‘Client Bank Account’ completely separate to the firm’s own bank account and funds.

All funds were held in such a separate account, and so were unaffected by the administration of McClure.

Funds that were held by McClure in their ‘Client Bank Account’ were transferred to a separate ‘Holding Client Bank Account’ set up by Jones Whyte, with the consent of both the Solicitors Regulatory Authority and the Law Society of Scotland. Please note this ‘Holding Client Bank Account’ is entirely separate from the main Jones Whyte Client Bank Account, and funds are kept there for safekeeping for the former clients of McClure pending further instruction from them. We are in the process of returning any clients funds held in this holding account to them.

Yes. Jones Whyte is a national law firm with qualified solicitors based in England and Scotland. We act for clients covering the length and breadth of the UK, from John O’Groats to Land’s End.

Not only do we have qualified solicitors in England and Wales, we have qualified solicitors in Scotland. Uniquely, we also have numerous solicitors who are ‘Dual Qualified’ in both jurisdictions and can advise on complex cross-jurisdictional matters.

At the time of the administration, we estimate there were in excess of 100,000 files created by McClure Solicitors.

Due to (1) this incredibly large volume of files, and (2) the fact we were dealing with so many former clients of McClure who were actively contacting us, it simply was not possible for Jones Whyte, or any law firm, to proactively reach out to all the clients with files at the time of the administration. Some clients had multiple files with McClure.

The approach we have adopted has been measured, and sustainable, and one in which allowed us to continue to prioritise quality legal work to agreed timescales. As noted above, we are continuing to proactively contact former clients of McClure in this way. We expect to have contacted any remaining Trust client by 30th June 2025.

When you took out a Trust with McClure, you will have entered into a contractual relationship with them, where in return for payment of their fees, they were to provide you with certain legal services. When McClure went into administration, it ceased being able to deliver legal services to its clients and was no longer able to perform its contractual obligations with you.

Whilst we understand how frustrating this will be, it is the unfortunate reality when a company goes out of business.

For absolute clarity, no fees paid to McClure were passed to Jones Whyte. As such, whilst we are happy to assist any former clients of McClure, like any other law firm or business, we do require to charge for the work we do.

Yes. It’s entirely your choice as to whether you transfer your file to another law firm or decide to instruct Jones Whyte.

Whether you instruct Jones Whyte or another firm of solicitors, fees will be payable for any work required. The advantages of instructing Jones Whyte are that (1) we have sole access to the former clients of McClure filing system and can immediately start assisting you with matters, and (2) we have acted for thousands of former clients of McClure and are uniquely placed with the experience to advise you on the work that was carried out with McClure.

It’s also worth noting that in most Trust cases, the Trustees noted on your paperwork need to be removed as they are the former Managing Partners of McClure. The removal of these Trustees is something that needs to be carried out alongside transferring your file and papers to another law firm. Whichever firm you decide to transfer your file to will usually carry out this work. We will provide them with any necessary contact details for the Trustees of your Trust. Alternative Solicitors can be located at: Find a Solicitor - The Law Society

For the avoidance of doubt Jones Whyte do not charge a fee for transferring your file to either you or another Solicitor of your choosing.

McClure was insolvent at the time of it’s administration, which in layman’s terms means that they ran out of money.

All law firms however, are required to have Professional Indemnity Insurance, which clients can make a claim on if they feel a law firm did not perform its duty/services to a reasonable level. Claims can be for compensation, and to cover various losses, which would include any fees you had to pay to another law firm to help rectify matters for you.

Whilst we cannot comment on specific cases where McClure acted, or the likelihood of a successful claim, we have intimated claims on behalf of former clients of McClure. We are more than happy to do this for former clients of McClure who instruct us, at no additional cost.

If you have transferred your property into Trust with McClure, the title will have been updated to reflect the fact that the property is held in Trust. Any former director of McClure who is named on the title is holding the title entirely in their capacity as Trustee on behalf of your Trust.  It is not the case that any individual former directors who are named on any property own a property personally.   

Law firms that do Trust work, often have separate legal entities from their firm, that are used to hold office of Trustees of the Trusts they set up for clients. McClure had two of these ‘Trust Companies’, WW & J McClure Trust Corporation Limited (used as Trustee in English and Welsh Trusts) and WW & J McClure Trustees (Scotland) Limited (used as Trustee in Scottish Trusts).

These are entirely separate legal entities from the legal firm of McClure and were not affected by its administration. These two Trust Companies were trustees on a small proportion of trusts set up by McClure.

To prevent issues with being able to manage the large amount of McClure Trusts after the administration, the former Managing Partners of McClure, who were the Directors of these Trust companies, all resigned their directorships on the date of the administration.

The Managing Partners of Jones Whyte were appointed as Directors in their place, for the sole purpose of assisting former clients of McClure who had set up Trusts with the Trust Companies as Trustees.

As Jones Whyte now controls both Trust Companies, it was decided that the names of both be changed to Jones Whyte Trust Corporation Limited and Jones Whyte Trustees (Scotland) Limited.

Jones Whyte are in regular contact with all former directors of McClure. We can arrange for their removal from your Trust and replace with alternative Trustees of your choosing.

Please note that some former directors of McClure may apply a charge for facilitating their removal. This is something Jones Whyte has no control over and this would apply regardless of which solicitor you choose. We can advise on this following an initial review of your Trust.

We are pleased to have been able to offer alternative employment to a number of specialists after the collapse of McClure in 2021. This allowed their collective technical knowledge to be preserved and make available the much-needed ongoing support that so many previous clients of McClure required.

Those employed by our firm were not responsible for the circumstances which led to the insolvency of McClure.