(unnamed respondent)

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

Liam Connolly, an equity partner at Rowberry Morris Thames Valley LLP, appealed under s.44E of the Solicitors Act 1974 against an SRA Adjudicator's decision to rebuke him (and to publish it and order £1,350 costs, which were not appealable). The original allegation concerned an email to a former client, Mrs S, stating that if she reported the firm to the SRA/LeO she could not accept a settlement offer repaying her fees, contrary to Paragraph 7.5 of the Code of Conduct. The Adjudicator had treated the conduct as intentional with numerous aggravating factors. On review, the Tribunal found the Adjudicator erred in treating factors such as personal responsibility, the client's lay status, and 'intent and motivation' as aggravating, expressly noting there was no suggestion of any lack of integrity or dishonesty. The Tribunal found the breach was a mistake caused by lack of knowledge, corrected within hours, and that the Adjudicator gave insufficient weight to mitigation. It concluded the conduct could not be elevated above a minor or moderate breach and that a rebuke was disproportionate. The appeal was allowed and the SRA's order revoked, with no order for costs.

Duties found breached:

• No acting against a former client

Mitigating factors:

• Isolated incident
• Previously unblemished record
• Insight and remorse shown
• Extremely low risk of repetition
• Breach remedied (within a few hours)
• No lasting or significant harm
• Appellant's admission of the breach