Keith Flavell

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

Keith Flavell, Managing Partner at Harold Benjamin solicitors, helped his brother and sister-in-law sell their property to Mr and Mrs Fulton. The Tribunal found he encouraged his brother to lie about the history of neighbour disputes, made false and misleading suggestions on the Seller's Property Information Form, deliberately withheld correspondence from his conveyancing colleagues, and allowed the firm to continue acting while knowing the purchasers were being misled. He also caused the firm to understate his involvement when the SRA inquired, and falsely denied his earlier dishonesty in subsequent civil litigation (settled for £385,000). The Tribunal made express findings of dishonesty under the Ivey test in relation to Allegations 1, 2 and 3, though it found his motive was to help his brother rather than financial (the £5,000 loan was not the motivating factor, and that element of Allegation 2 was not proved). The Tribunal found a high level of culpability and significant harm, and concluded there were no exceptional circumstances under Sharma/James to avoid a strike-off. Flavell was struck off the Roll and ordered to pay the lay Applicants' costs fixed at £29,750.

Duties found breached:

• Cooperate openly with regulators
• Integrity
• Non-discriminatory acceptance and cab-rank
• Uphold public trust in the profession

Aggravating factors:

• Misconduct was planned and deliberate, not a spur of the moment incident
• Misconduct continued over a period of time across multiple distinct occasions (SPIF, SRA correspondence and civil litigation)
• Involved concealment and active steps to perpetuate and conceal dishonesty
• Misleading the regulator (SRA)
• Vastly experienced solicitor and Managing Partner with direct responsibility
• Significant harm to the Fultons (reflected in £385,000 civil settlement) and harm to the firm and the profession's reputation

Mitigating factors:

• Good character and significant charity/community work; positive character references
• Motivation was to help his brother rather than personal financial gain
• Serious illness affecting his wife and daughter and impact on his own mental health at the relevant time
• Expressed sorrow for the situation the Fultons found themselves in
• Stepped down early as Managing Partner to protect the firm