Bethany Sarah Reay

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

Bethany Sarah Reay, a solicitor at JMW conducting personal injury/clinical negligence claims, admitted six allegations of making untrue and misleading statements to four clients and an opponent in litigation over the period 2013-2017 regarding the progress of claims (including claims not issued, not served, or discontinued without consent), breaching Principles 2, 5 and 6. She admitted her conduct was dishonest. The matter was resolved on an Agreed Outcome on the papers. The Tribunal found the admissions properly made and, finding no exceptional circumstances, approved striking her off the Roll and ordered costs of £3,800.

Duties found breached:

• Honesty
• Integrity
• Uphold public trust in the profession
• Act in the client's best interests

Aggravating factors:

• Numerous incidents of dishonest conduct spanning a significant period (four years)
• Misleading statements to clients and an opponent who trusted her to be truthful
• Multiple clients affected

Mitigating factors:

• Suffering from an anxiety disorder while employed, of which employer was aware
• Unable to cope with workload and offered little support by firm
• Working extremely long hours including weekends and annual leave
• Felt intimidated and threatened by clients who would not accept their claims could not proceed
• No longer practising and does not intend to practise as a solicitor again