Tapfumanei Nyawanza
Allegation / charges
Breaches, Code of Conduct 2011, Code of Conduct for Solicitors, REL's & RFL's 2019, Dishonesty, SRA Principles 2011, SRA Principles 2019
Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision
On an agreed outcome dealt with on the papers, the SDT found Mr Nyawanza, a solicitor admitted in 2009, breached SRA rules on two allegations. Allegation 1: while an employee/consultant at DWFM between May 2020 and June 2022, he inappropriately received up to £76,952 in client fee payments (£60,602 immigration work plus £16,350 from Company M) into his personal bank account for work he undertook on behalf of DWFM, which he admitted was dishonest. Allegation 2: while a consultant at Mezzle between June 2022 and March 2023, he failed to open client files or, where opened, failed to keep adequate documentation. The Tribunal found the admissions properly made and the dishonesty deliberate, calculated and repeated, with no exceptional circumstances. He was struck off the Roll and ordered to pay agreed costs of £25,000.
Duties found breached:
- File and record retention
- Honesty
- Integrity
- No conflict between current clients
- No improper solicitation or touting
Aggravating factors:
- Dishonesty was deliberate, calculated and repeated
- Significant sums of money involved
- Conduct repeated across many transactions (141 transactions, 102 payors) and two firms
- Previous disciplinary history: fined £12,500 by the Tribunal in January 2022 (Case No. 12231-2021)
Mitigating factors:
- Admitted all allegations including dishonesty
- Cooperated by providing bank account information under the Production Notice
- Resolved by agreed outcome
Codes & rules applied
Duties engaged
- Act only on proper, lawful instructions
- Advise on alternatives, settlement and outcome
- Avoid wasting the court's time
- Cease acting on client perjury or disobedience
- Client-care and engagement terms
- Client confidentiality
- Competence
- Complaints procedure and handling
- Comply with and respect court orders
- Comply with rules of foreign jurisdictions
- Continuity and handover of representation
- Cooperate openly with regulators
- Costs and fee transparency to client
- Diligence and timeliness
- Disclose adverse law to the court
- Disclose material information to client
- Disclose referrals, commissions and benefits
- Fair dealing with unrepresented parties
- Fair, reasonable and lawful fees
- Full disclosure on ex parte applications
- Good faith and courtesy to colleagues
- Handle inadvertently received material
- Hold a current practising certificate
- Honour professional undertakings
- Keep client informed and respond promptly
- Maintain competence and CPD
- Manage conflict arising mid-matter
- No abuse of process or coercive powers
- No acting against a former client
- No baseless or threatened misconduct report
- No conflict between current clients
- No direct dealing with represented party
- No improper benefit, loan or bequest
- No improper communication with the court
- No improper fee-sharing or partnership
- No improper questioning of witnesses
- No improper solicitation or touting
- Non-discriminatory acceptance and cab-rank
- No obstruction or victimisation of reporters
- No own-interest conflict
- No payments to witnesses on evidence
- No personal opinion or familiarity with court
- No prejudicial publicity for pending cases
- No standing bail or surety for client
- No taking unfair advantage
- No tampering with or coaching witnesses
- Not mislead the court
- Not mislead third parties or opponents
- Not misrepresent regulated status
- Pay instructed practitioners and agents
- Professional indemnity insurance
- Proper basis for allegations
- Proper termination and return of instructions
- Prosecutorial duty of disclosure
- Prosecutorial fairness and impartiality
- Protect capacity and vulnerable clients
- Protect legal professional privilege
- Report serious misconduct of others
- Safeguard documents and limit liens
- Self-report to the regulator
- Truthful, non-misleading advertising