CALCULATED MISCONDUCT

A solicitor with 46 years' unblemished record in practice was struck off for stealing thousands of pounds from clients. David Grant was a partner at the now defunct Nottinghamshire firm Tracey Barlow Fumiss & Co which was in serious financial trouble. He stole more than £95,000 from two clients and was part of a money laundering arrangement with a client which deprived a deceased estate of £6,000. Grant also failed to return thousands of pounds of residual balances in client accounts to his client. He attempted to conceal his theft and misled the SRA investigator by saying clients had lent him cash. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) said his conduct was 'deliberate, calculated and repeated' and he had caused a high degree of harm to the profession's reputation. Under the agreed outcome procedure, Grant was also ordered to pay £14,000 costs. He is serving a two-year prison sentence for theft and money laundering. 14 April 2020