'Triggered' solicitor struck off for dishonest letter

A claimant personal injury lawyer who had an unblemished record in practice for more than two decades agreed to being struck off after admitting dishonest conduct.

Geoffrey Hart was asked by a client to write a letter falsely stating she had settled an injury claim for a lower sum than she had actually agreed.

The client was a friend of Hart’s wife.

The intention was to deliberately conceal the total amount of the settlement from the client’s “controlling” husband.

A few days earlier, the client told Hart by telephone that she was going to tell her husband she had settled the claim for £30,000. 

Hart, who worked at Ward & Rider in the Midlands at the time, wrote a letter to his client setting out the ‘settlement’ informing her that the net balance she would receive was £30,000.

She had in fact received £48,000 after her costs were deducted.

He knew that some of the statements in that letter as to the composition and value of the settlement were false.

He also wrote two further letters to his client containing misleading information which carried on the dishonesty.

Separately, Hart had emailed his solicitor wife (who worked at a separate firm) attaching a letter he had written to a personal injury client for the purpose of providing her with a precedent document for her own practice.

That letter included information such as the client’s personal information and who she intended to sue for damages, all of which were disclosed without consent.

In mitigation, Hart told the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) he had acted out of character after finding out the client had experienced tragedy similar to his own experiences, including having a stillborn child.

He relied on the report of a clinical psychologist which stated he had anxiety and depression and potentially an adjustment disorder.

He had, said the report, made a mistake at work while experiencing these psychological difficulties and associated impairment in cognitive processing (judgement and reasoning).

Hart also quickly realised the enormity of his conduct and, at his request, his employer recalled the letter.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) was involved shortly after and Hart left the firm.

The SDT found a number of factors aggravating the seriousness of Hart’s conduct including his deliberate dishonesty and the intention to mislead.

Furthermore, the misleading statement would, given its status as a solicitor’s letter, be taken as a truthful statement.

As for the second matter, he knowingly disclosed confidential client information without the individuals’ knowledge or consent – in the interests of a close relative.

Hart was struck off and paid £9,000 in costs under an agreed outcome.