Wendy Deborah Alexander

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

The respondent, a secretary/clerk at Rigby Golding & Co between 1987 and 1992, became friendly with clients Mr & Mrs D. After their house sale, the respondent and her co-habitee Mr Coker allowed Mr & Mrs D to occupy a Norfolk property (Watton) they owned, took £37,544 from them, and signed an informal agreement, while concealing that the property was heavily mortgaged and that they were in financial difficulty. The mortgagee repossessed the property in 1993 and Mr & Mrs D had to be re-housed. The Tribunal accepted the civil court judgments showing the respondent was party to a planned (not opportunistic) fraud against the clients. Although the firm was found not liable, the Tribunal held the conduct was related to the firm's practice and made it undesirable for her to be employed by a solicitor without Law Society permission. The respondent did not appear. A Section 43 order was made and she was ordered to pay costs (to be taxed if not agreed).

Duties found breached:

• Proper basis for allegations
• Disclose material information to client
• No conflict between current clients
• No improper solicitation or touting

Aggravating factors:

• The fraud was planned and not opportunistic
• Clients were deprived of a considerable sum (£37,544) with little prospect of recovery
• Default judgment against respondent remained unsatisfied due to impecuniosity
• Concealment of heavy mortgages and financial difficulties from elderly, trusting clients

Mitigating factors:

• Respondent expressed remorse, describing the matter as an arrangement between close friends
• Respondent claimed she was unaware of obligations applicable to a solicitor's clerk
• Civil court findings were made in absence of her defence as she could not fund it