Neal Simmons

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

The Respondent solicitor was convicted at St Albans Crown Court of two counts of doing acts tending and intending to pervert the course of public justice, having produced a letter with details of possible drivers to avoid a speeding prosecution. He received a suspended sentence, unpaid work and a driving disqualification. He admitted breaching Rules 1.02 and 1.06 of the Solicitors' Code of Conduct 2007. The Tribunal found the allegation proved. Although there was no finding of dishonesty and no client was involved, the Tribunal held his conduct undermined the profession's core principle of promoting justice and struck him off the Roll of Solicitors, ordering agreed costs of £1,889.00.

Duties found breached:

• Uphold public trust in the profession
• No conflict between current clients

Aggravating factors:

• Criminal conviction on two counts of perverting the course of justice
• Conduct undermined the fundamental principle of promoting justice as an officer of the court
• Caused significant damage to the reputation of the profession

Mitigating factors:

• No client involved and no breach of client trust
• Episode of short duration
• Difficult personal circumstances at the time (bankruptcy in 2007, depression, living on state benefits)
• Previously clean driving record
• Full acceptance of responsibility