Lesley Dixon

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

Lesley Dixon, a solicitor's clerk at Oxley & Coward, forged on an affidavit both the signature of her divorce client and the signature of a solicitor purportedly administering the oath, then filed it at Doncaster County Court. The allegation was not contested and the Tribunal found it substantiated. The Tribunal made a controlling order under Section 43(2) of the Solicitors Act 1974 prohibiting any solicitor from employing her without the Law Society's written permission, and ordered her to pay costs of £1,351.25. The Tribunal expressed sympathy, accepting she acted out of character under extreme workload pressure and the demands of a difficult client, but held no pressure could excuse forgery and misleading the court. No express finding of dishonesty was recorded.

Duties found breached:

• Cease acting on client perjury or disobedience
• No conflict between current clients

Aggravating factors:

• Forgery of two signatures (client and another solicitor)
• Deceived the court, the client and another party
• Caused the forged affidavit to be filed at court, requiring a further hearing to resolve the difficulties

Mitigating factors:

• Full, frank explanation and apology
• Conduct was an isolated incident, not a course of conduct, and entirely out of character
• Competent and hard-working clerk subjected to an unsettling office move and successive staff departures resulting in an overwhelming workload
• Acted under great pressure from an extraordinarily difficult and demanding client
• Personal/family stress (concerns over mother and grandmother; difficulty sleeping)
• Gained no benefit from her actions; already suffered consequences (dismissal, substantial drop in salary, inability to find legal employment)
• Supported by a former employer and another local firm