Glenn Charles Hurstfield

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

Glenn Charles Hurstfield, a solicitor admitted in 1984, admitted four allegations including dishonestly preparing and backdating an amended Declaration of Trust (changing it from irrevocable to revocable), authorising undocumented and unauthorised loans between a trust and a charity of which he was trustee/director, transferring £112,000 from a client account to his personal (overdrawn) account, and using client accounts as a banking facility. The Tribunal, dealing with the matter on the papers by agreed outcome, found his conduct fell far below the standards expected and involved dishonesty. He was struck off the Roll and ordered to pay agreed costs of £52,282.62.

Duties found breached:

• Proper basis for allegations
• Honesty
• Non-discriminatory acceptance and cab-rank
• No conflict between current clients
• No improper use of client money
• Good faith and courtesy to colleagues

Aggravating factors:

• Dishonesty in preparing and backdating the amended Declaration of Trust
• Knew the second Declaration had no real legal value but failed to advise client
• Detriment to the beneficiary's entitlement
• Transfer of £112,000 to his own account while his personal account was overdrawn (potential conflict of interest)
• Conduct spanning several years (2013-2018)

Mitigating factors:

• Repayment of funds via £147,500 cheque on resignation and full repayment of loans plus interest
• Testimonials submitted
• Cooperation and admission of all allegations including dishonesty
• Claimed he believed he was acting in clients' best interests