Michael Lennon
Allegation / charges
Client Money, Dishonesty, Lack of Integrity, Solicitors Accounts Rules 2011, SRA Principles 2011
Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision
Michael Lennon, an assistant solicitor at DPP Law Ltd, was found to have, between June 2018 and January 2019, requested and received client monies (for Clients A-C and E-G, plus others) into his personal Santander account for legal services and failed to account for them to the Firm. He concealed his personal practice by not opening client files, using the Firm's letterheads and false invoices without authority, receiving client monies personally, and representing Client K in criminal proceedings without authority. He admitted all rule breaches and dishonesty. Dealt with on the papers by agreed outcome, the Tribunal struck him off the Roll and ordered costs of £4,750.
Duties found breached:
Aggravating factors:
- Dishonesty committed over a six-month period involving several clients
- Deliberate and repeated misconduct, not spontaneous
- Breach of position of trust placed in him by the Firm, colleagues and clients
- Acted to provide personal benefit by retaining monies, causing the Firm financial loss
- Experienced solicitor aware of relevant Rules and Principles
- Placed client money at risk
Mitigating factors:
- Admitted all allegations including dishonesty
- Cooperated by resolving matter via agreed outcome