A Liverpool solicitor who failed to tell the Solicitors Regulation Authority about his bankruptcy and borrowed money from an elderly client has been banned from the profession.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal also heard Alan Richard Birkbeck, a solicitor for 17 years, had misinformed police station officials when he wrongly told them he represented a client when appearing for a defendant.
Birkbeck was made bankrupt in January 2015 but during the same month joined Liverpool firm Healey Kenyon McAteer as a part-time consultant. He did not tell the firm of his financial situation, nor did he fulfil his obligation to inform the SRA within seven days of being declared bankrupt. He was suspended by the firm in June 2015 after the SRA became aware of his bankruptcy through information in the Insolvency Register.
Birkbeck did not appear at the tribunal hearing in March, but previously told the SRA he had sent a letter in February 2015 updating his situation – that letter was never received – and did not know his practising certificate was automatically suspended.
But the tribunal heard he had previously been declared bankrupt in 2004 and would have been aware of the correct procedure.
The tribunal judgment, published this week, said it was ‘difficult to believe’ his failure to inform the SRA was an omission given his previous experiences, and this was not a credible explanation.
The tribunal also heard Birkbeck repeatedly held himself out as employed while suspended and had misled police officers apparently in order to gain access to potential clients in custody.
In November 2015 he allowed a custody record to state he worked for a named firm which had never employed him.
In April 2015, he was the on-call solicitor covering St Anne’s Police station in Merseyside and was appointed to be the solicitor for an elderly client described in the judgment as ‘vulnerable’ and of limited means. Over the next two months, Birkbeck, while still an undischarged bankrupt, borrowed £8,250 in three tranches. He did not advise the client to take separate legal advice and did not repay the loans.
In mitigation, pleaded prior to the hearing, Birkbeck said his bankruptcy was caused because his name, address and other details had been used by third parties to rent commercial property. He was suffering difficult personal circumstances at the time of the bankruptcy and it was an ‘oversight’ not to inform the SRA.
He had attempted to remove himself from the roll of solicitors in April 2015, stating he was facing an investigation, had health issues and no longer wished to be involved in the legal profession.
He stated he had been in police protection since 2008 due to threats from third parties and had ‘serious’ personal problems.
But the tribunal heard no independent medical evidence to support what he said about personal circumstances and health issues. Birkbeck, who now works in the building industry, had acted dishonestly and his conduct was ‘deliberate, repeated and continued over a long period of time’.
‘There was no evidence of genuine insight or remorse from [Birkbeck],’ said the judgment. ‘Indeed his explanation about practising in ignorance while bankrupt was not credible. These were all aggravating factors.’
He was struck off the roll and ordered to pay £3,453 in costs.
Bankrupt Liverpool lawyer borrowed £8k from vulnerable client
0 commentaires:
Enregistrer un commentaire