Graham Deighton Ford

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

Graham Deighton Ford, a solicitor's clerk (not a solicitor), had been convicted of criminal offences disclosing dishonesty committed whilst employed as a solicitor's clerk. The Tribunal found the allegation substantiated (uncontested) and made the order sought preventing his employment by any solicitor without the Law Society's written permission. It declined to accept an undertaking offered by the respondent as unenforceable. Given concern over delay in bringing the matter to hearing, the Tribunal reduced costs from the £705 sought to a £400 contribution.

Duties found breached:

• Honesty

Aggravating factors:

• Dishonesty committed whilst employed as a solicitor's clerk

Mitigating factors:

• Significant delay in bringing the matter to a hearing