Information For Previous Clients Of McClure Solicitors

If you have any queries and the following FAQ does not answer them please contact Jones Whyte on 0330 175 1234 or at info@joneswhyte.co.uk or via the contact form below.

I was a McClure client are the funds in my family protection trust safe?

As the funds were held in a separate account and unaffected by the firm’s administration status, these funds are perfectly secure with Jones Whyte. There are strict regulations in place to safeguard client’s funds and there is no risk to any funds previously held by McClure Solicitors.

Have McClure Solicitors Went Into Administration?

Greenock law firm WW & J Mcclure Limited went into administration and ceased trading in early 2021. Glasgow firm Jones Whyte LLP took over the goodwill, work in progress and certain assets of WW & J Mcclure Limited when it ceased practice in 2021.

I was a McClure client is my/my family member’s will safe?

Jones Whyte took over the storage centres previously managed by McClure Solicitors. If you had a will in storage with McClure it will remain in secure storage under the safekeeping of Jones Whyte.

If you have recently suffered a bereavement and require your loved one’s Will, please contact us on 0330 175 1234 or at info@joneswhyte.co.uk and ask for our Bereavement Team.

I was a McClure Solicitors client, what are my next steps?

If you wish to make changes to or enquire about your existing McClure Will or Power of Attorney, please contact us on 0330 175 1234 or at info@joneswhyte.co.uk and ask for our Estate Planning team.

If you had a Trust with McClure Solicitors and it has not been reviewed in over a year, you should contact Jones Whyte and we will provide a trust review with a dedicated member of our team for a fixed fee. All Trusts should be reviewed annually, we urge you to arrange this as soon as possible to ensure your Trust assets are afforded the greatest level of protection.

I Was a McClure Solicitors Client But I’m Not Based in Scotland?

If you had a trust that was previously managed by McClure Solicitors and you have reservations regarding Jones Whyte head office being based in Scotland, please be rest assured that this will not present any issues in the ongoing storage or future management of your Trust. Jones Whyte are a ‘dual qualified’ law firm, being authorised and regulated by both the Solicitors Regulatory Authority in England and Wales, and the Law Society of Scotland in Scotland. We have solicitors based all over the UK, with the exception of Northern Ireland.

Feel free to contact our experienced team with any questions you may have, on 0330 175 1234 or at info@joneswhyte.co.uk.

Why wasn’t I told about the administration of McClure Solicitors?

Unfortunately, with approximately 100,000 clients affected by the McClure Solicitors administration, it simply wasn’t feasible to let everyone know about this at the same time. There were also issues with historic files not having been closed by McClure, so it was impossible to know exactly how many ‘active’ clients McClure had, and exactly who they were.

We have arranged for all McClure lines of communication to be re-directed to us, so any McClure Solicitors client actively seeking assistance is able to get in touch with us easily. Separately, we continue to reach out to those affected individually – although this will take some time to complete given the numbers involved.

I paid a fee which was to cover the ongoing management of my Trust, will that continue with Jones Whyte?

Jones Whyte are an entirely separate law firm, now custodian of the McClure files, and are here to either assist with any work required or assist in directing your file elsewhere. It is not financially possible for us to adhere to any agreement you held with McClure Solicitors. In order for us to provide a service to the clients affected by the administration of McClure Solicitors, like all solicitor firms, we require to charge a fee for any work we are required to carry out.

I want to transfer my file elsewhere, can I do that?

Absolutely. We have a dedicated team in place to assist in transferring your information to you, or to a Solicitor of your choosing. We do, however, specialise in advising on this type of work and are more than happy to assist, being uniquely placed having the sole access to the files of the former firm of McClure Solicitor
Whether you wish to instruct Jones Whyte or seek advice on transferring your file elsewhere, please contact us on 0330 175 1234 or at info@joneswhyte.co.uk and ask for our Trust Management team.

Am I entitled to compensation following the administration of McClure Solicitors?/I want to complain about McClure.

There is no universal compensation scheme in place for clients affected by the administration of McClure. You may choose to submit a claim to the administrator, FRP advisory, setting out any loss which you believe you have incurred. Alternatively, you may choose to submit a complaint to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (for McClure clients based in Scotland), and the Legal Ombudsman (for McClure clients based in England and Wales).

If the SLCC/LO find that McClure have failed in their service obligations to you, they may set out a sum of compensation which they determine you to be due. Such determinations will be referred to the administrator. We would note, however, McClure was ultimately insolvent at the point of its administration and therefore it is unlikely that there will be funds available to the administrator to settle any sums awarded to you.

If the SLCC/LO determine that any failure on the part of McClure could amount to an issue of conduct, they may choose to refer the matter to the Law Society of Scotland/Solicitors Regulatory Authority for further investigation. In certain circumstances, LSS/SRA may assist in guiding you to the providers of the McClure run off Professional Indemnity insurance, although it is our understanding that this will be appropriate in only a very limited number of circumstances.
Regardless of whether you wish to pursue any of the options set out above, it is important that you speak to Jones Whyte in the first instance so that we can assist you in determining the most appropriate course of action.

Please contact us on 0330 175 1234 or at info@joneswhyte.co.uk and ask for our Trust Management team.

Jones Whyte have taken over as Trustee on my Trust

A number of McClure Trusts were set up with the McClure Trust Companies (of which there are 2) as it’s Trustee. Law firms who do trust work, usually have separate legal entities from their firm, that are used to hold office of trustees of trusts they set up.

McClure had 2 of these ‘Trust Companies’, namely (1) WW & J MCCLURE TRUST CORPORATION LIMITED (used as Trustee in English Trusts) and (2) WW & J MCCLURE TRUSTEES (SCOTLAND) LIMITED. As stated above, these 2 companies are entirely separate legal entities from the legal firm of McClure Solicitors, and as such were not affected by its administration.

So as to prevent issues with being able to manage the amount of McClure Trusts post administration, the former partners of the firm of McClure Solicitors, who were the directors of these 2 trust companies, all resigned their directorships on the date of the administration. The partners of Jones Whyte were appointed as directors in their place, so as to be able to manage the Trusts on behalf of ex McClure clients. As Jones Whyte now control both companies, it was decided that the names of both companies be changed to (1) JONES WHYTE TRUST CORPORATION LIMITED and (2) JONES WHYTE TRUSTEES (SCOTLAND) LIMITED accordingly.

Your Trust can continue with either Trust Company above as Trustee, with Jones Whyte being appointed as the Solicitors to manage this on behalf of the Trustee. Alternatively, should you wish someone else to be Trustee of your Trust in the place of either Trust Company, we are happy to facilitate this for you. Regardless of how you wish to proceed, it’s important that you speak to us in the first instance. Please contact us on 0330 175 1234 or at info@joneswhyte.co.uk and ask for our Trust Management team.

There are individual Directors from McClure noted on my Trust personally, how do I get them off?

Jones Whyte are in contact with all former Directors of McClure, or their appointed legal representative, and are able to arrange for their removal from your Trust and replacement with alternative Trustees of your choosing. We can advise on this following an initial review of your Trust that was set up by McClure, this being required as Jones Whyte have no knowledge surrounding your trust, the reason it was set up, etc. Please contact us on 0330 175 1234 or at info@joneswhyte.co.uk and ask for our Trust Management team.

Jones Whyte employs a number of people who were involved in the original setting up of my Trust at McClure

This is correct, however, those now employed by our firm were not responsible for the decisions or circumstances which led to the insolvency of the firm of McClure Solicitors. We are pleased to have been able to offer these team members alternative employment so that we may benefit from their technical knowledge in respect of the management of Trusts and other matters.

If you have any questions at all or require further information on a product you acquired from McClure Solicitors please do not hesitate to get in touch with our experienced Estate Planning & Bereavement Teams. You can call us on 0330 175 1234, email info@joneswhyte.co.uk or fill in the form and a member of our team will be in touch with you promptly.