Jude Sebastian Fletcher
Allegation / charges
Client Money, Code of Conduct for Solicitors, REL's & RFL's 2019, Solicitors Accounts Rules 2019, SRA Principles 2019
Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision
Jude Sebastian Fletcher, sole owner, director and COFA of Fletcher Day Limited, misappropriated a minimum of £997,417.58 of client money (contributing to a client account shortage of £2,096,757.59) by transferring client funds into a Metro Bank account to which he alone had access and making payments to himself (as 'Jude Grammer') and others for non-client purposes. He also provided the SRA with falsified Metro Bank statements and a fabricated bank letter (December 2020/January 2021) and gave the Firm's cashier forged statements showing a fictitious £2.1m balance (October 2022) to conceal the shortfall. The Tribunal found all allegations proved, found dishonesty under Ivey, and ordered him struck off the Roll with costs of £65,000.
Duties found breached:
- Good faith and courtesy to colleagues
- Honesty
- Integrity
- No conflict between current clients
- No improper use of client money
- Not mislead third parties or opponents
- Uphold public trust in the profession
Aggravating factors:
- Proven dishonesty
- Conduct was deliberate, calculated and repeated over a sustained period
- Motivated by personal financial gain
- Abuse of position as sole person with access to Metro account
- Falsified bank statements and a bank letter
- Misled both staff and regulator
- Failure to engage with the regulator over a prolonged period
Mitigating factors:
- None advanced (Respondent did not attend); he acknowledged seriousness and suggested strike-off, agreed to pay costs in full in email of 17 February 2026
Codes & rules applied
Duties engaged
- Account for interest on client money
- Accounting records, reconciliation and reports
- Act only on proper, lawful instructions
- Advise on alternatives, settlement and outcome
- Avoid wasting the court's time
- Cease acting on client perjury or disobedience
- Client-care and engagement terms
- Client confidentiality
- Competence
- Complaints procedure and handling
- Comply with and respect court orders
- Comply with rules of foreign jurisdictions
- Continuity and handover of representation
- Cooperate openly with regulators
- Costs and fee transparency to client
- Diligence and timeliness
- Disclose adverse law to the court
- Disclose material information to client
- Disclose referrals, commissions and benefits
- Fair dealing with unrepresented parties
- Fair, reasonable and lawful fees
- Full disclosure on ex parte applications
- Good faith and courtesy to colleagues
- Handle inadvertently received material
- Hold a current practising certificate
- Honour professional undertakings
- Keep client informed and respond promptly
- Maintain competence and CPD
- Manage conflict arising mid-matter
- No abuse of process or coercive powers
- No acting against a former client
- No baseless or threatened misconduct report
- No conflict between current clients
- No direct dealing with represented party
- No improper benefit, loan or bequest
- No improper communication with the court
- No improper fee-sharing or partnership
- No improper questioning of witnesses
- No improper solicitation or touting
- No improper use of client money
- Non-discriminatory acceptance and cab-rank
- No obstruction or victimisation of reporters
- No own-interest conflict
- No payments to witnesses on evidence
- No personal handling of client money
- No personal opinion or familiarity with court
- No prejudicial publicity for pending cases
- No standing bail or surety for client
- No taking unfair advantage
- No tampering with or coaching witnesses
- Not mislead the court
- Not mislead third parties or opponents
- Not misrepresent regulated status
- Pay instructed practitioners and agents
- Professional indemnity insurance
- Prompt accounting and return of money
- Proper basis for allegations
- Proper termination and return of instructions
- Prosecutorial duty of disclosure
- Prosecutorial fairness and impartiality
- Protect capacity and vulnerable clients
- Protect legal professional privilege
- Report serious misconduct of others
- Safeguard documents and limit liens
- Segregate client money
- Self-report to the regulator
- Truthful, non-misleading advertising