Michael Andrew Hopkins

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

Hopkins, an assistant solicitor at Inghams, exchanged contracts in a conveyancing transaction in error and then misled his employer twice - first denying exchange had taken place in conversation, then reading a fictitious fax over the phone. The Tribunal applied the Twinsectra test and found his behaviour dishonest. He was struck off the Roll and ordered to pay costs of £1,400. He admitted the conduct in letters and did not appear.

Duties found breached:

• No taking unfair advantage

Aggravating factors:

• Misled employer on two separate occasions, including fabricating a fictitious fax

Mitigating factors:

• Admitted and apologised for the conduct
• Suffering from stress and depression due to marital breakdown and working conditions
• Recently qualified after a difficult training process with no specific training or supervision in property work
• Single failure in five years of employment
• Obtained subsequent employment in a heavily supervised environment