Waheed Ur Rehman Mian

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

The Respondent, a solicitor and owner/member/COLP/COFA of M-R Solicitors LLP, acted for numerous clients purchasing off-plan, buyer-led investment properties in development projects run by Aronex Developments Limited. He failed to disclose significant connections to Aronex (his wife was a director and shareholder; firm employees were directors; the firm was Aronex's landlord), creating an own-interest conflict, and acted despite that conflict. He failed to adequately advise clients of the risks inherent in off-plan schemes (where ~70% of price was paid pre-completion), failed to inform clients of planning permission issues before releasing funds, and failed to supervise a junior staff member. Aronex collapsed in November 2019 and investors lost their deposits. The Tribunal found all four allegations proved. The Respondent admitted breaches of Principles 4, 6 and 8 on allegation 1.1 but denied (and the Tribunal did not find a Principle 2 or 3 breach was admitted) the dishonesty/integrity-related principles for that allegation; allegations 1.2-1.4 were admitted in full. No express finding of dishonesty was made.

Duties found breached:

• Act in the client's best interests
• Avoid wasting the court's time
• Firm governance, systems and compliance
• Non-discriminatory acceptance and cab-rank
• Uphold public trust in the profession