Richard Alexander Dobson

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

Richard Alexander Dobson, a solicitor of nearly 50 years' standing at Trent Law Ltd, faced two allegations relating to his handling of Client A's case, in which a default judgment of £49,406.68 was entered against her after he failed to file a Directions Questionnaire, ultimately leading to her paying £60,273.62 in enforcement. The SRA alleged he failed to act in her best interests (with manifest incompetence advanced as an aggravating feature) and that he produced misleading file notes and correspondence (with dishonesty/recklessness advanced). The Tribunal accepted Mr Dobson was a truthful and honest witness who genuinely believed the judgment had been entered in error due to a court procedural mistake, and that he had not received the Unless Order or an administrative reminder. It found his failings did not cross the threshold of seriousness and culpability required for regulatory breaches, and that the file notes reflected his genuine if mistaken belief rather than any attempt to mislead. Both allegations, and the associated aggravating features, were found not proved and dismissed. The Respondent's costs application was refused.