Andrew Ian West

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

Andrew Ian West, a partner and head of the Probate and Trust Department at Tilly Bailey and Irvine, raised bills not justified by work done or notified to clients in order to meet billing targets, causing cash shortages of £33,106.34 across two estate ledgers. He also made 27 paper transfers between client ledgers totalling £294,584.60 to fund interim payments to beneficiaries where insufficient funds existed. He admitted the allegations and admitted acting dishonestly. The Tribunal found the allegations substantiated as a case of admitted dishonesty involving clients' funds and ordered him struck off, with costs of £9,000.

Duties found breached:

• Honesty
• No improper use of client money
• No improper solicitation or touting

Aggravating factors:

• Dishonesty involving clients' funds
• Deceit towards partners through unjustified bills
• Misconduct over an extended period (1993-2004)
• Potential loss to clients (shortages made good by partners)

Mitigating factors:

• No personal financial gain
• Perceived professional pressure to meet billing targets and personal stress
• Cooperated with the investigation and made early admissions
• Sincere remorse
• Attended Tribunal and faced matters openly
• Testimonials in support