William Murnin

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

William Murnin, sole partner in charge of the Greenock office of Murnin McCluskey, was found guilty of professional misconduct for knowingly issuing unjustified and excessive fee notes and taking funds from client ledgers across some 17 client files, overcharging clients by more than £200,000 and creating a client account deficit of the same amount. Independent law accountants (Mullans) assessed the proper fees to be a small fraction of those taken; the excessive fees were re-credited by his partners after his departure. He failed to render fee notes to seven clients and submitted inaccurate accounts certificates. The Tribunal expressly found his conduct dishonest and, proceeding in his absence (he chose not to attend or be represented), ordered that his name be struck off the Roll of Solicitors, with the Respondent liable for the expenses of the Complainers and Tribunal on a taxed agent and client basis, and directed publicity naming the Respondent.

Duties found breached:

• No improper communication with the court
• No taking unfair advantage
• No improper use of client money
• Prompt accounting and return of money
• Accounting records, reconciliation and reports

Aggravating factors:

• Course of dishonest conduct with client money involving numerous clients
• Total overcharging in excess of £200,000
• No remorse or insight demonstrated
• Fees frequently removed as soon as executry funds were paid into client account
• Conduct occurred while he was designated cashroom, risk management, client relations and anti-money laundering partner
• Conduct likely to seriously damage the reputation of the legal profession

Mitigating factors:

• No prior record of conduct offences