Ian Caunt Wilson

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

Ian Caunt Wilson, sole equity partner, COLP and COFA of Lyons Wilson Solicitors, was found to have failed to pay professional disbursements after receiving settlement monies, causing a client account shortfall, while storing over 700 unpresented cheques (totalling £233,191.64) in a filing cabinet in his office. He failed to run the firm with effective financial systems, failed in his compliance roles, and failed to co-operate with the SRA's intervention. All four allegations were proved on the balance of probabilities. The Tribunal rejected his assertions that he was unaware of the situation, finding them disingenuous, but the allegations were framed in terms of lack of integrity rather than dishonesty, and no express finding of dishonesty was made. The Tribunal classified the misconduct as very high and struck him off the Roll, ordering costs of £33,000 (reduced from the £38,916 claimed). He did not attend the hearing.

Duties found breached:

• Cooperate openly with regulators
• Firm governance, systems and compliance
• Prompt accounting and return of money

Aggravating factors:

• Misconduct deliberate, calculated and repeated over a protracted period of three years
• Abuse of power as Managing Partner and Sole Practitioner
• Sought to conceal misconduct by storing unpresented cheques in a filing cabinet in his office
• Sought to blame others throughout the forensic investigation
• Self-serving and financially motivated conduct
• Extremely experienced solicitor (admitted 1969)