Solicitor suspended for compliance failings and ‘reckless’ conduct
Summary
A solicitor has been suspended for nine months after the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal found serious accounting and compliance failings at a sole practice, including unreliable books of account, missing reconciliations and continued operation of a client account despite known record-keeping problems. The SRA intervened, recovered client funds, and the tribunal also ordered costs and post-suspension practice conditions.
Why it matters
The case highlights the importance of robust client account controls, accurate reconciliations and timely escalation when accounting records become unreliable. For residential property surveyors, it is a reminder that conveyancing counterparties with weak compliance can create transaction delays, client-money risk and wider professional risk.
Key points
- No compliant three-way client account reconciliations had been completed since January 2022.
- Client ledgers were handwritten, incomplete and materially out of date, with no accurate client balance list.
- An unresolved difference of £591,385.40 was identified between stated liabilities and funds held in client account.
- The SRA intervened in October 2024 and recovered £935,104.17 from the client account.
- The solicitor was suspended for nine months and will face practice conditions for one year after the suspension.
This is an RPSA summary of a publicly available article. The full content remains with the original publisher.
