Simon Sui Ping Hsu

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

The Respondent, a consultant solicitor dealing with conveyancing, admitted allegations including telling a client £40,000 was needed for SDLT when only £21,250 was payable, transferring £18,199 of client money to an unknown entity (WCS) without the client's knowledge, failing to record £700 cash received, and misappropriating client funds. He also failed to cooperate with the SRA and misled the SRA by claiming to be overseas caring for his ill mother when he was in fact in London. Dishonesty was admitted in respect of allegations 1.1 and 1.3. The matter was resolved by agreed outcome on the papers. The Tribunal found no exceptional circumstances and ordered strike-off plus costs of £35,171.72.

Duties found breached:

• No improper communication with the court
• 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:

• Two admissions of dishonesty
• Repeatedly used claimed ill-health of his mother as a shield to deflect regulatory scrutiny
• Failure to provide telephone contact number and answers to specific questions
• Failure to provide explanation of his conduct when invited

Mitigating factors:

• Retired from practice due to mental health issues and mother's ill health
• Suffered anxiety due to mother's ill health impacting cooperation
• Fully complied with all Tribunal Directions
• Agreed to pay SRA costs without dispute
• Admitted allegations in full including dishonesty