Edward William Ellis

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

Edward William Ellis, admitted 1978, was found guilty of conduct unbefitting a solicitor arising from a client complaint (Mrs FM) about the handling of her mother's estate. He failed to promptly comply with an OSS/Law Society direction to pay compensation and adjust costs, failed to reply promptly to Law Society correspondence, and wrote inappropriate, offensive and derogatory correspondence to a complainant, the Law Society and members of the judiciary, accusing judges of corruption and perverting the course of justice. He denied the allegations but made admissions of fact. The Tribunal found all allegations proved and, viewing particularly seriously the offensive remarks that brought the profession into disrepute and which he continued to maintain, imposed an indefinite suspension and ordered £4,000 costs. No express finding of dishonesty was made.

Duties found breached:

• Not mislead the court
• Disclose adverse law to the court
• No improper communication with the court
• Keep client informed and respond promptly
• No improper solicitation or touting

Aggravating factors:

• Inappropriate and offensive remarks to complainant and members of the judiciary bringing the profession into disrepute
• Continued to hold and express these views at the hearing
• Inappropriate letter to complainant including a suggestion in jest to 'murder Michael and get away with it'
• Repeated instances of derogatory correspondence about named judges

Mitigating factors:

• Eventually complied with the Law Society's direction on 23 October 2006
• Represented himself in person