Gary Robert Williams

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

Mr Gary Robert Williams, a partner at Osborne Morris and Morgan, admitted misleading his client's Litigation Friend over several years that a Pre-Action Protocol Letter had been sent in a clinical negligence claim when it had not, and delaying/failing to progress the client's claim. He admitted his conduct was dishonest. The Tribunal, dealing with the matter on the papers via an agreed outcome, found the admissions properly made and that dishonesty over a lengthy period, with no exceptional circumstances, warranted striking off. He was struck off the Roll and ordered to pay costs of £5,175.

Duties found breached:

• Act in the client's best interests
• Non-discriminatory acceptance and cab-rank
• No conflict between current clients

Aggravating factors:

• Dishonesty over a lengthy period (several years)
• Deliberately and knowingly misled the client's Litigation Friend on more than one occasion
• Adverse impact on client's case (potential costs deductions) and emotional impact on client and Litigation Friend

Mitigating factors:

• Suffering from stress and depression during the period, unable to cope with case load
• Remorse and admissions
• Self-reported his conduct to the firm's senior partner