Laura Elizabeth Simpson

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

Mrs Simpson, a solicitor at Switalskis Solicitors, gave misleading information to Client A on three occasions (June-July 2023) by stating she had not received an expert report from Mr Raine-Fenning when she knew she had received it. She admitted she lied to "buy herself some time." She admitted the allegation in full, including dishonesty, which the Tribunal found proved. Applying Ivey, the Tribunal found her conduct dishonest. With no exceptional circumstances, she was struck off the Roll and ordered to pay costs of £3,000 (reduced from £30,330 claimed, given the fixed fee was excessive and her limited means).

Duties found breached:

• Non-discriminatory acceptance and cab-rank
• No conflict between current clients
• Good faith and courtesy to colleagues

Aggravating factors:

• Proven and admitted dishonesty
• Conduct was planned/deliberate
• Breach of trust placed in her by the client
• Experienced solicitor (qualified 2009)
• Caused harm to Client A, impacting her mental health and wellbeing

Mitigating factors:

• Full admission of the allegation, including dishonesty, at the outset
• Misconduct limited to a single matter
• Apologised and showed insight, acknowledging conduct was unacceptable
• Heavy caseload of complex cases at the time
• No previous disciplinary matters