David Ewan McNeish

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

David Ewan McNeish acted in a conveyancing purchase for a married couple, Mr and Dr A. Instructed initially for a joint purchase, he dealt almost exclusively with Mr A via email and never communicated directly with Dr A, even when the transaction changed so that title and mortgage were taken in Mr A's sole name while the deposit came from a joint account. He failed to take her instructions, confirm her authority, advise her on the consequences of signing the Standard Security, or advise her to seek independent legal advice. The Tribunal found professional misconduct under the Sharp test (best interests, authority, and effective communication) but found the conduct thoughtless, not dishonest. He was censured, found liable in expenses, and ordered to pay Dr A £1,250 compensation plus £250 expenses. No dishonesty was found.

Duties found breached:

• Proper basis for allegations
• No improper communication with the court
• Act in the client's best interests
• Act only on proper, lawful instructions
• No conflict between current clients

Aggravating factors:

• The change in instructions had potential detrimental consequences for Dr A while being advantageous to Mr A, his sole point of contact
• Dr A was a non-native English speaker relying entirely on her solicitor

Mitigating factors:

• No previous disciplinary record over some 24/25 years in practice
• Conduct was thoughtless rather than a deliberate course of conduct
• Speed and pressure of the transaction, being busy and short-staffed
• Made significant concessions and offered an apology