David Alexander Farbrother

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

The Respondent, a solicitor employed by Edward Harte & Co, was found to have provided false information on his CV (claiming lapsed SFLA membership), misled his employers about submitting an SFLA Panel application, and falsified his CPD record for 2003/2004 while failing to comply with the Training Regulations. The Tribunal found the allegations substantiated and concluded he was guilty of conscious impropriety (not an express finding of dishonesty), holding he was not fit to be a solicitor. He was struck off the Roll and ordered to pay costs of £3,664.70. He did not attend but admitted matters in correspondence.

Duties found breached:

• No improper communication with the court
• No conflict between current clients
• Competence
• No improper solicitation or touting

Aggravating factors:

• Conscious impropriety involving falsified documents and misleading employers
• History of changing jobs while carrying an outdated/false membership claim

Mitigating factors:

• Made admissions and did not contest the allegations
• Family bereavement and heavy caseload deflected focus
• Undertook charitable work in India and was not in a sound financial position
• Resigned when confronted and cooperated