Gareth Rowan Evans

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

The Respondent, a personal injury solicitor at Slater and Gordon, misused client H's settlement funds by diverting £17,000 to client G and £4,661.75 to client P to conceal problems on those clients' files. He also settled client H's claim for £45,000 without her knowledge or instructions and then misled her for nearly two years into believing her claim was ongoing, arranging sham medical appointments and reporting fictitious offers. The Tribunal found express dishonesty. Dealt with on the papers by way of Agreed Outcome, the Respondent was struck off the Roll and ordered to pay costs of £2,300.

Duties found breached:

• Not mislead the court
• Act in the client's best interests
• No improper use of client money

Aggravating factors:

• Dishonesty continued over an extended period of time
• Detriment to client H, causing considerable stress, anger, anxiety and financial loss
• Respondent entirely culpable; misconduct extremely serious

Mitigating factors:

• Previously unblemished record since admission in 1993
• High caseload and lack of supervision/monitoring by firm
• Conduct out of character
• Expressed remorse and apology
• Admitted all allegations including dishonesty