Shaun A. Reynolds

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

The attorney was retained by both purchaser and vendor to formalize an agreement for sale and effect transfer of land, and was paid $205,000 by the vendor and $74,000 by the complainant to cover stamp duty, transfer tax, fees and costs. He failed to stamp the agreement, complete the sale, or account for the monies received, and backdated the 1997 agreement to 1994. The Committee rejected his excuse that the buyer could not pay the $250,000 balance (payable only on delivery of title). He was found guilty of breaches of Canons VII(a)&(b) and IV(r)&(s). He was suspended for two years, reducible to six months upon compliance with specified conditions (or payment of $750,000), an accounts investigation was recommended at his expense, and costs of $30,000 to the complainant and $20,000 to the GLC were ordered. No express finding of dishonesty was made.

Duties found breached:

• Overriding duty to the court
• No conflict between current clients
• No improper use of client money

Aggravating factors:

• Failed to account for substantial sums paid for stamp duty, transfer tax, fees and costs
• Backdated the 1997 agreement to 1994 exposing the parties to penalties
• Failed to attend hearings and produce his witness after being granted adjournment
• Left transaction incomplete for years despite repeated follow-ups

⚠ figures not found verbatim in the source were dropped: ["unverified_costs_amount=50000"]