Robert Henry Crossland Flynn Crossland Flynn

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

The Respondent, an equity member and head of commercial property at his firm, used £21,250 of client money (Mr A and Mr G) to repay his personal loan from client N Ltd, then transferred rent deposits belonging to Mr and Mrs P without their authority to cover the shortfall, routing funds via A&A and making false ledger descriptions. The firm made good the £22,000 shortage. The Tribunal found all allegations proved beyond reasonable doubt, including dishonesty under the Twinsectra test in relation to allegations 1.1-1.3. With no exceptional circumstances, the Respondent was struck off the Roll and ordered to pay costs of £8,500. The hearing proceeded in his absence.

Duties found breached:

• Proper basis for allegations
• Non-discriminatory acceptance and cab-rank
• No improper use of client money
• Accounting records, reconciliation and reports

Aggravating factors:

• Deliberate and calculated conduct
• Used client money to repay personal loan for personal financial gain
• Elaborate mechanism to conceal misuse using other clients' funds
• Made false and misleading ledger entries
• Lied to Mr A about the payment
• Experienced and trusted solicitor
• Failed to provide any explanation to Firm, Applicant or Tribunal
• Misuse concealed for around six months until discovered

Mitigating factors:

• No previous disciplinary findings