Jean Mary Noble

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

Jean Mary Noble, a solicitor's clerk employed as a secretary/assistant at Messrs. Abson Hall, misappropriated money causing a cash shortage; she pleaded guilty to nine offences of theft and false accounting at Manchester Crown Court and received a 12-month suspended sentence. The Tribunal found the allegation substantiated and made a Section 43 order controlling her future employment within the solicitors' profession, ordering her to pay fixed costs of £770.65. The Tribunal expressed sympathy for her ill health but held the order was needed to protect the profession's reputation and the public.

Duties found breached:

• Personal probity and fitness to practise

Aggravating factors:

• Misappropriation of money (approx £12,000) during employment by a solicitor
• Nine criminal offences involving dishonesty; sentenced to 12 months imprisonment suspended for two years

Mitigating factors:

• Poor physical and mental health; disability pension
• Under care of clinical psychologist and psychiatrist
• Admitted the offences