M W R Wood and A Burdett

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

Two partners of Michael Wood & Co faced allegations of serious Solicitors Accounts Rules breaches, inadequate supervision of their bookkeeper, failure to deliver a Gross Fees Certificate/pay indemnity contributions, and improperly allowing their client account to be operated as a banking facility for clients and staff (breach of Practice Rule 1). A conflict-of-interest allegation (vii) was not proved. Michael Wood alone was additionally found to have made a false/misleading mortgage application that deceived the lender by not disclosing a county court judgment and the true purpose of the loan. The Tribunal made no express finding of dishonesty. Wood was struck off (aggravated by a prior 1995 disciplinary finding and the mortgage deception); Burdett, with no prior record and integrity intact, was suspended for 12 months. Both were ordered to pay costs jointly and severally, subject to detailed assessment.

Duties found breached:

• Not mislead third parties or opponents
• Handle inadvertently received material
• No improper use of client money
• Supervise staff and delegated work
• Good faith and courtesy to colleagues
• No improper solicitation or touting

Aggravating factors:

• Wood had previously appeared before the Tribunal in 1995 for Solicitors Accounts Rules breaches and had been warned to raise his standards
• Serious breaches involving very substantial sums passing through client account used as a bank
• Wood misled a lending institution when applying for a mortgage advance
• Cheques for disbursements held back to improve firm's cash flow

Mitigating factors:

• No client lost money and no client complaints
• Respondents made admissions and received credit
• No allegation or finding of dishonesty; Burdett's integrity not impugned and he had no prior findings
• Substantial delay (three to four years) in bringing and determining proceedings
• Wood suffered from Multiple Sclerosis and relied on his partner and bookkeeper; Burdett qualified later in life and was less experienced
• Shortages substantially or wholly rectified