Guy Welby Richardson

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

Guy Welby Richardson, a solicitor admitted in 1996 and practising as a consultant at Blackhams Solicitors, faced allegations of conduct unbefitting a solicitor. He fabricated a letter and misled Frearsons and Blackhams over a file transfer, filed a witness statement with inaccurate dates at West London County Court to distance himself from a matter, and improperly transferred client/office account monies (totalling several thousand pounds) to his own company Ibicus Ltd using forged authorities and signatures. He also misled clients Ms R and Ms H, falsely claiming applications/settlements had been made, and discontinued Ms H's claim without instructions. The Respondent did not appear. The Tribunal found all allegations substantiated and made an express finding of dishonesty, applying the Twinsectra test, holding he told lies, forged documents and took monies to which he was not entitled. He was struck off the Roll and ordered to pay costs of £11,796.23.

Duties found breached:

• Not mislead the court
• Not mislead third parties or opponents
• No improper use of client money
• No improper solicitation or touting

Aggravating factors:

• Forged/fabricated documents and copied client signatures
• Took action to disguise what he had done
• Misled both solicitors, the court, clients and a Law Society investigator
• Tribunal concluded he was 'a stranger to the truth'