Livinus Nnawihe Douglas Durugo

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

The Respondent, a sole principal, was found guilty of conduct unbefitting a solicitor for failing to comply with a Law Society Adjudicator's direction (including paying £400 compensation to a client), failing to respond properly to Law Society correspondence, failing to operate a proper complaints handling procedure under Rule 15, and failing to deal promptly with client communications. He did not appear. The Tribunal recognised mitigating factors including a difficult client and financial difficulties. He was suspended indefinitely and ordered to pay costs of £2,846.41. No dishonesty was found.

Duties found breached:

• No improper communication with the court
• Complaints procedure and handling
• Advise on alternatives, settlement and outcome

Aggravating factors:

• Failure to comply with an Adjudicator's direction, which the Tribunal regarded as serious

Mitigating factors:

• Client Mr S was a difficult client with unrealistic demands and expectations
• Respondent made some efforts to respond and there was not a total failure to respond
• Failure to pay compensation was not deliberate but due to financial difficulties (bankruptcy/financial melt-down)