US firm Locke Lord has been fined £500,000—double the original £250,000 figure proposed in an ‘agreed outcome’ between the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and the firm.
Locke Lord admitted four charges of failing to supervise a solicitor involved in investment schemes and failing to have effective systems and controls in place to enable it to identify and assess potential conflicts of interest It accepted that £21m had passed through client accounts in relation to the schemes.
Unusually, Andrew Spooner, Chairman of the Division of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal that sat on the case (SRA v Locke Lord) issued a statement alongside the judgment, clarifying that the tribunal refused the ‘agreed outcome’ because it felt ‘the proposed fine of £250,000 did not reflect the seriousness of the matter’.
Spooner said he wished to clarify matters because ‘inaccurate and misleading quotations’ had emanated from the SRA.
The solicitor involved, Jonathan Denton, has not admitted the allegations and will appear before the tribunal at a future date.
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