Susan Anne Manchester

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

Susan Anne Manchester, a solicitor in partnership with her husband, failed to obtain/pay indemnity insurance, failed to pay an expert's fees, failed to reply to OSS correspondence, and concealed a catalogue of serious practice matters from her partner. She manufactured false financial documents (fake bank statements and letters) to deceive her husband about the practice's finances. The Tribunal, applying the Twinsectra test and noting her own affidavit admission of manufacturing documents, found her conduct dishonest and substantiated all allegations. She was struck off the Roll and ordered to pay costs subject to detailed assessment.

Duties found breached:

• Not mislead third parties or opponents
• Handle inadvertently received material
• Professional indemnity insurance
• Pay instructed practitioners and agents

Aggravating factors:

• Manufacture of multiple false documents (fake bank statements, letters from Legal Services Commission, Lloyds TSB, Halifax)
• Deception of her husband/partner regarding practice finances
• Conduct led to collapse of the practice and intervention
• Failure to attend or make submissions
• No independent medical evidence provided despite Law Society offer to fund

Mitigating factors:

• References to her mental state at the time of events in affidavits
• Admitted allegations (a)-(c) and (f)-(h)
• Respondent was bankrupt