Nicholas Heywood

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

The respondent solicitor was convicted on his own confession at Warrington Crown Court on 12 December 2011 of four offences: two counts of prejudicing a money laundering investigation (s.342 POCA 2002) by concealing conveyancing files, doing an act tending and intending to pervert the course of justice (removing incriminating documents from a file produced under a Production Order and inserting a misleading document), and transferring criminal property of £13,750 (s.327 POCA 2002). He was sentenced on 11 January 2012 to six months' imprisonment. The Tribunal proceeded in his absence and on the second Rule 7 Statement only, leaving the earlier Rule 5 and first Rule 7 Statements (including dishonesty allegations) to lie on the file. The Tribunal found the convictions breached Principles 1, 2 and 6. It expressly noted that even if not all offences necessarily involved dishonesty, they were so serious and displayed such a lack of integrity that the ultimate sanction was justified. The respondent was struck off the Roll. Costs of the second Rule 7 Statement were awarded to the SRA, to be assessed if not agreed and not enforced without Tribunal permission (no amount quantified), given the existing Restraint Order and bankruptcy.

Duties found breached:

• Non-discriminatory acceptance and cab-rank
• No taking unfair advantage
• Uphold public trust in the profession

Aggravating factors:

• Offences went to the heart of the principles governing the solicitors' profession
• Immediate custodial sentence imposed
• Trial judge noted the respondent knew what he was doing was wrong
• Offences involved money laundering, dealing with criminal property and perverting the course of justice

Mitigating factors:

• No previous disciplinary findings against the respondent
• Respondent acknowledged the convictions were sufficiently serious to justify a striking off order
• Convictions were on his own confession