(unnamed respondent)

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

Mr Anthony Smith, a non-solicitor fee earner, applied to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal to review and remove a section 43 order made by an SRA Adjudication Panel on 11 December 2017. The order arose because, acting as attorney for clients Mr and Mrs B (both vulnerable), Mr Smith favoured Mrs B's interests over Mr B's by transferring £100,000 (£80,000 from Mr B's bank account and £20,000 from sale proceeds) to Mrs B, breaching SRA Principles 2, 4, 6 and 10. The Tribunal, proceeding by way of review under the Arslan principles, found the Adjudication Panel's findings of fact and conclusions were not unreasonable nor outside the bounds of reasonable disagreement. The SRA expressly did not pursue honesty allegations, so no finding of dishonesty was made. The Tribunal dismissed the application and ordered Mr Smith to pay costs of £2,942.95. The Tribunal noted (not as part of its core decision) the applicant's lack of insight and that he had previously been convicted of seven offences under s44 for failing to disclose the section 43 order to employers, fined £500 per offence plus £170 victim surcharge.

Duties found breached:

• Act in the client's best interests
• Integrity
• Segregate client money
• Uphold public trust in the profession

Aggravating factors:

• Continued failure to recognise that his conduct had been wrong
• Lack of insight into his conduct and the regulatory role of the SRA/Tribunal
• Prior criminal convictions for breaching the section 43 order by failing to disclose it to at least eight firms/recruitment agencies

Mitigating factors:

• Showed some level of insight regarding the conflict of interest