Paul Thompson

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

The Respondent, a suspended solicitor, was found guilty of professional misconduct for repeatedly failing to respond to correspondence and statutory notices (under s15 of the 1980 Act and s48 of the 2007 Act) from the Law Society during its regulatory investigation. The Tribunal proceeded in his absence after two adjournment requests and no answers being lodged. He was censured and fined £1,000, found liable for expenses, with publicity including his name and address. No dishonesty was found.

Duties found breached:

• No improper communication with the court
• Cooperate openly with regulators

Aggravating factors:

• Previous Tribunal finding of misconduct for analogous matters
• Lack of remorse and insight
• Failure to engage adequately with the Tribunal process

Mitigating factors:

• Conduct considered to be at the lower end of the scale of misconduct