Audrey Donaghue

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

Assistant solicitor Audrey Donaghue was found guilty of conduct unbefitting a solicitor for providing misleading CVs and fabricated referee information to prospective employers over four years, and for submitting a statutory declaration with false signatures to The Law Society. The Tribunal made an express finding of dishonesty, rejecting mental health as a defence in the absence of formal medical evidence. She was struck off the Roll and ordered to pay costs of £8,000.

Duties found breached:

• Not mislead third parties or opponents

Aggravating factors:

• Falsification carried out over approximately four years
• Fabricated referees using her own mobile number and family members' names
• Forged statutory declaration submitted with practising certificate application

Mitigating factors:

• Admitted the allegations in writing
• Claimed ill health and diagnosis of manic depression (Bi Polar Disorder), though no formal medical evidence provided