Bruce William Hargreaves

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

Bruce William Hargreaves, a solicitor's clerk (not a solicitor), was convicted at Bristol Crown Court on 22 March 1994 of five counts of obtaining property by deception, arising from writing business cheques totalling £360 knowing they would not be met. He was fined £500 and ordered to pay £950 costs in the criminal proceedings. The Law Society applied for a Section 43 order. The Tribunal found the allegation substantiated and that the convictions involved dishonesty, though at the lowest end of the scale, and made the s.43 order from 21 March 1995. Given the amendments to the application and that the respondent had already paid a high price (loss of marriage, financial hardship), the Tribunal imposed no further financial penalty and made no order for costs.

Duties found breached:

• Personal probity and fitness to practise

Aggravating factors:

• Convicted of five criminal offences involving dishonesty

Mitigating factors:

• Dishonesty found to be at the lowest end of the scale
• Cheques would have been covered by a banker's card had they not been drawn on a business account
• Conviction cost the respondent his marriage and caused great financial hardship
• Respondent had already paid a high price for what he had done
• Respondent vigorously defended himself and was acquitted of other counts