Decision record
Mark Andrew Shepherd
Allegation / charges
Breaches, Code of Conduct for Solicitors, REL's & RFL's 2019, Solicitors Accounts Rules 2019, SRA Principles 2011, SRA Principles 2019
Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision
Mark Andrew Shepherd, a solicitor and real estate partner at DWF Law LLP, authorised the release of £2,645,713.56 in buyers' deposit and construction instalment monies from the Firm's client account to a seller client (SPV1) for an off-plan residential development, without checking that contractual conditions (deposit warranty insurance and Supervisor's Certificates) had been met. The monies were not properly due, and the development works had not begun. The seller later went into administration, and the Firm and its insurers repaid the buyers. The Respondent admitted breaches of the SRA Principles, Code of Conduct and Accounts Rules. No dishonesty was alleged or found. Via an Agreed Outcome, the Tribunal imposed a fine of £14,168.00 (Level 3 'more serious') plus costs of £19,000.00.
Duties found breached:
Aggravating factors:
- Conduct repeated on several occasions over a period of 13 months (October 2019 to November 2020)
Mitigating factors:
- Self-reported/made appropriate internal referrals immediately upon becoming aware
- Cooperated fully with internal and SRA investigations
- Made open admissions and demonstrated insight, apologising for conduct
- No actual or intended personal gain
- Harm to buyers fully remedied - all monies repaid by Firm and its indemnity insurers