Jacquelina Olivia Johns (nee Laverick)

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

Former solicitor convicted at Lincoln Crown Court on 22 October 2010 of ten counts of theft and two counts of converting criminal property, having stolen £214,870 from client accounts over 3 years 4 months, and sentenced to 3 years imprisonment with a £60,000 confiscation order. The Tribunal found she breached Rules 1.02 and 1.06 SCC and had committed very substantial acts of dishonesty and breaches of trust, targeting vulnerable clients and deceiving her own grandmother. As her name had already been removed from the Roll, the Tribunal made a s.47(2)(g) order prohibiting restoration except by Order of the Tribunal (stayed 28 days) and ordered her to pay the SRA's costs subject to detailed assessment (claimed £43,488.57).

Duties found breached:

• Prosecutorial duty of disclosure
• No conflict between current clients

Aggravating factors:

• Theft of £214,870 from client accounts over 3 years and 4 months
• Money taken from vulnerable clients, including those for whom she acted as Court of Protection Deputy
• Deceived her own grandmother, taking almost £150,000
• Careful targeting of files she thought she could get away with
• Destroyed files, requiring extensive investigation
• Conduct done out of pure greed with no financial pressure, to fund a lifestyle she could not afford

Mitigating factors:

• Pleaded guilty at first opportunity and cooperated with police
• Admitted the allegation before the Tribunal
• Did not seek to make excuses for her conduct
• Personal difficulties in her life between 2001 and 2007 (though these did not excuse the conduct)