David Henry Winston

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

David Henry Winston, admitted 1978, was found guilty of conduct unbefitting a solicitor on all allegations. He practised in breach of a condition on his practising certificate and later without any certificate, was guilty of delay, failed to reply to correspondence, failed to hand over client papers, and breached the Solicitors Accounts Rules (shortfalls in client funds of £1,267.17 at 31 Oct 1994 and £4,903.88, arising from overpayments). Most seriously, he fabricated a purported High Court Order (altering a genuine 1991 order) and handed it to his client Mrs R, misleading her into believing she could lawfully remove a Ward of Court from the jurisdiction; the child was taken to Jamaica. The tribunal found him deliberately and/or recklessly party to producing the fabricated document and deliberately/recklessly misleading his client, but the applicant did not allege dishonesty regarding the accounts and the tribunal made no express finding of dishonesty. He had a prior 1994 tribunal appearance (fined £2,500). The respondent did not appear. Struck off the Roll and ordered to pay costs to be taxed if not agreed.

Duties found breached:

• Cease acting on client perjury or disobedience
• No taking unfair advantage
• Complaints procedure and handling
• Handle inadvertently received material
• No improper use of client money
• Diligence and timeliness
• Hold a current practising certificate

Aggravating factors:

• Prior tribunal finding in July 1994 (fined £2,500) for similar misconduct - had not learnt his lesson
• Fabrication of a Court Order while an Officer of the Court
• Gravely misled client allowing removal of a Ward of Court from the jurisdiction
• Persistent failure to communicate with the SCB, applicant and Tribunal