Paul Thompson

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

The Scottish Solicitors' Discipline Tribunal found Paul Thompson guilty of professional misconduct for repeatedly failing to respond to and cooperate with correspondence and statutory notices (under s.15 of the 1980 Act and s.48 of the 2007 Act) sent by the Law Society in respect of its regulatory function during 2015-2016. The Respondent, who had been suspended from practice in 2013, did not lodge answers and did not attend the hearings; the Tribunal proceeded in his absence on affidavit evidence. Facts were found proved beyond reasonable doubt and the Sharp test for professional misconduct met. No express finding of dishonesty was made. He was censured, fined £1,000, and found liable for expenses.

Duties found breached:

• No improper communication with the court
• Cooperate openly with regulators

Aggravating factors:

• Previous Tribunal finding of misconduct against the Respondent for analogous matters
• Lack of remorse and insight
• Failure to engage adequately with the Tribunal process

Mitigating factors:

• Conduct considered to be at the lower end of the scale of misconduct