Nicola Thompson & Ruth Alison Linda Rush

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

Two equity partners at Bottrills Solicitors LLP, Nicola Thompson (solicitor) and Ruth Rush (CILEX Fellow, unadmitted), admitted multiple breaches of the SRA Principles and Solicitors Accounts Rules 2011 arising from a problematic accounting system migration. Failures included allowing the client account to be overdrawn, client account shortages, duplicate payments, holding client money in office account, operating an unallocated transfer/suspense ledger, failing to perform reconciliations, and failing to report breaches and an improper £327,000 payment (which was recovered) to the SRA. No dishonesty or lack of integrity was alleged, and no client money was lost. The Tribunal approved the agreed outcome: Thompson fined £10,000 with practising conditions; Rush fined £7,501 with a Section 43 order; each to pay £14,487.50 costs.

Duties found breached:

• Accounting records, reconciliation and reports
• No conflict between current clients
• No improper use of client money
• Report serious misconduct of others

Aggravating factors:

• Misconduct continued over a period of time (25 April 2016 to 5 December 2017)
• Respondents knew or ought reasonably to have known the conduct was in material breach of the accounts rules

Mitigating factors:

• Respondents self-reported the accounts rules breaches, instigating the investigation
• Accounting failures were made good by the Respondents
• Respondents engaged with the SRA and made open admissions
• Not motivated by financial gain
• No client money was actually lost or misused

⚠ figures not found verbatim in the source were dropped: ["unverified_fine_amount=17501", "unverified_costs_amount=28975"]