Nicholas Jackson

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

Nicholas Jackson, an experienced commercial property solicitor and Head of Commercial Property at Cullimore Dutton Solicitors Ltd, certified copies of a client director's (Person A's) passport and driving licence as true and complete copies of the originals on 6 July 2022 and supplied them to the lender's lawyers, when he had not inspected the original documents in person. The Tribunal found, on the balance of probabilities, that no in-person meeting or WhatsApp video call had occurred and that the Respondent had only seen high-quality electronic copies. Applying the Ivey test, the Tribunal found his conduct dishonest, and applying Wingate found a lack of integrity. All allegations were found proved (breaches of Principles 2, 4 and 5 and paragraph 1.4 of the Code). In the absence of exceptional circumstances, the Tribunal struck the Respondent from the Roll of Solicitors.

Duties found breached:

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

Aggravating factors:

• Conduct was dishonest
• Respondent was an experienced property lawyer aware of the significance of proper certification
• Breached positions of trust as an employee of the Firm and while representing Company A
• Respondent had direct control of the circumstances giving rise to the false certification
• Misconduct could have been a planned course of action
• Harm caused was serious and significant, with potential direct harm to parties and damage to the reputation of the legal profession

Mitigating factors:

• No previous disciplinary findings recorded against him