Angela Jane Butler

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

The Respondent, a solicitor employed in a conveyancing team, was convicted of theft at Derby Crown Court on 30 March 2010 for stealing £43,655.53 from her employer by authorising 63 improper client account cheques to pay personal credit card bills. She was sentenced to 3 years' imprisonment. The SRA did not specifically allege dishonesty as it was an essential element of theft. The Tribunal found the Rule 1.06 breach proved and struck her off the Roll, ordering costs of £6,000. The Respondent did not engage in proceedings.

Duties found breached:

• Uphold public trust in the profession

Aggravating factors:

• Systematic theft from employer over about two years
• Breach of trust of employer
• Conviction attracted media publicity

Mitigating factors:

• Pleaded guilty at first available opportunity
• Suffering from MS (though no medical report provided)