Nicholas Edmund Michael Hatcher

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

Sole practitioner (Hatcher & Co., Reading) whose practice was intervened in May 1993 after he abandoned it. The Law Society's investigation found accounting breaches and a minimum client account shortage (figures of £2,263.64 and £3,513.83 stated). He was convicted at Reading Crown Court on 13 February 1996, on his own admission, of dishonestly obtaining £80,856.30 from Leeds Permanent Building Society by deception via a false mortgage application. The Tribunal found all allegations substantiated; noting his claimed nervous breakdown but unsupported by evidence, it could not ignore the serious criminal offence involving dishonesty. He was struck off the Roll and ordered to pay costs to be taxed.

Duties found breached:

• No improper communication with the court
• Honesty
• No taking unfair advantage
• Uphold public trust in the profession
• No conflict between current clients
• No improper use of client money
• Prompt accounting and return of money
• Accounting records, reconciliation and reports

Aggravating factors:

• Conviction for a serious criminal offence involving dishonesty
• Submitted a misleading mortgage application with numerous false representations
• Submitted a false employer/income reference for his wife to Britannia Building Society
• Abandoned his practice leaving clients uninformed and unadvised

Mitigating factors:

• Claimed to have suffered a nervous breakdown and extreme stress (unsupported by evidence)
• No party sustained a loss; mortgage redeemed in full on sale
• No client complaints about performance and no claim on the Indemnity Fund