Clive Leslie Billington

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

Clive Leslie Billington, a sole practitioner admitted in 1987, admitted five allegations relating to 2008-2011 conveyancing transactions on the leasehold/freehold of a property in which he failed to disclose material matters to his lender client Barclays (a sub-sale, prior purchase, true source of funds and that only £57,737.73 of a £315,000 advance went to the vendor), acted in a conflict of interest, acted in transactions bearing the hallmarks of mortgage fraud, and breached an undertaking. He admitted dishonesty in respect of all allegations. The Tribunal, considering an Agreed Outcome in private, found the allegations proved including express dishonesty, found no exceptional circumstances, and struck him off the Roll, ordering costs of £2,500.

Duties found breached:

• Honesty
• Honour professional undertakings
• No conflict between current clients
• No improper use of client money
• Proper basis for allegations

Aggravating factors:

• Misconduct involved dishonesty over a relatively long period of time
• Respondent was an experienced solicitor with over 25 years' post-qualification experience
• High harm caused - lender client lost funds
• Harm to the reputation of the profession
• Previously appeared before the Tribunal in 2012 (fined £25,000) so claim of unblemished career was untrue

Mitigating factors:

• Admitted all allegations in full, avoiding the need for a trial
• Cooperated fully with the SRA and indemnity insurers
• No personal gain other than modest conveyancing fees
• Made good the loss by repaying Barclays out of his own funds (settled for £196,000)
• Matters were historic, dating back to 2008, hanging over him for years
• Genuine subjective belief that Barclays knew about the structure of the transaction
• Profound effect on his health and finances
• Expressions of remorse and contrition