Antony Terry Laughton

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

Antony Terry Laughton, a former solicitor removed from the Roll in 2002, was convicted at Swindon Crown Court on 8 July 2005 following his guilty plea on five counts of forgery and one count of acting as a director whilst an undischarged bankrupt, and sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment. The Tribunal found the allegation of behaving in a manner unbefitting a solicitor substantiated. It made a prohibition order under Section 47(2)(g) preventing his name being restored to the Roll except by Order of the Tribunal, with the Respondent consenting, and ordered costs of £495. No express finding of dishonesty was recorded by the Tribunal.

Aggravating factors:

• Breach of trust; sentencing judge noted trust placed in him because of professional background
• Dealing with other people's money in a cavalier fashion and forging documents over a period of time
• Custodial sentence of 15 months imposed

Mitigating factors:

• Guilty plea to six counts
• Did not contest the application and consented to the order