Daniel Anthony McGinn

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

Daniel Anthony McGinn abandoned his practice in October 2016 without informing his client (the Secondary Complainer) or the Law Society, ceasing to act on her medical negligence claim without just cause and failing to advise her, leaving her file/medical records irretrievable as the triennium approached expiry. Proceeding in his absence, the Tribunal found him guilty of professional misconduct in breach of Rules B1.4.1, B1.9.1 and B1.12, expressly noting no dishonesty was involved. Given the seriousness, lack of insight, prior analogous finding, and risk to the public, the Tribunal struck him off the Roll on 26 May 2022. At a later compensation hearing (19 December 2022), the Tribunal rejected the loss-of-opportunity financial claim (no evidence of prospects of success) but awarded £1,000 for inconvenience and distress, with no expenses due to or by either party.

Duties found breached:

• Act in the client's best interests
• Cease acting on client perjury or disobedience
• No improper communication with the court
• Not mislead third parties or opponents
• Proper termination and return of instructions

Aggravating factors:

• Failure to cooperate with the investigation and prosecution
• No evidence of insight or remorse
• Previous analogous finding of misconduct on record (Law Society v Daniel McGinn 2019)
• Profession brought into disrepute
• Danger to the public if he continued to practise
• Client badly let down with potentially far-reaching consequences (triennium near expiry)
• Complete disengagement from client, regulator and Tribunal

Mitigating factors:

• No dishonesty involved
• No course of conduct (isolated matter)