Simon Morgan & Ann Morgan

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

Simon Morgan, senior partner of Milners, was convicted at Leeds/Bradford Crown Court of six offences of theft and sentenced to seven years imprisonment, having stolen approximately £1.36 million from the firm and client account (minimum client account shortage £676,733.82) to fund an extravagant lifestyle. The Tribunal found his conduct dishonest and that he compromised his integrity and the profession's repute, and struck him off the Roll. His wife, Ann Morgan, the firm's practice manager (not a solicitor), was found by a jury to have committed the acts but was deemed unfit to plead and received an absolute discharge; she admitted her behaviour had been dishonest. The Tribunal made a Section 43 Order against her. Both were ordered jointly and severally liable for costs of £3,250.

Duties found breached:

• No acting against a former client
• Good faith and courtesy to colleagues

Aggravating factors:

• Theft of approximately £1.36 million from firm and client account over 2.5 years
• Offences motivated by greed
• Funds used for luxury cars, private jets, expensive holidays and lifestyle
• Long period of offending with multiple victims including clients
• Seven-year prison sentence

Mitigating factors:

• No previous disciplinary matters recorded against either Respondent