A solicitor with over 30 years’ experience has been disciplined for conflict of interest by working with ‘the other side’.
John Charles Wright held a management position with the south east London practice Ashley Wilson LLP. His colleagues were aware of the friendship he had with the purchasers of a property valued at £1.8 million and, because of this, it was agreed that the firm would not be able to act for both clients.
A second firm was appointed to handle the purchase of the property and Mr Wright was to have no involvement due to his potential conflict of interest.
However, Mr Wright continued to instruct the new solicitor on behalf of his friend.
Once exchange took place in April 2016, the second firm wrote a pre-action protocol letter to Ashley Wilson to accuse the estate agent of misleading the buyer by mis-describing the property, suggesting that the purchaser was paying more than the property was worth. Mr Wright was involved in preparing the letter to his own firm, which sought damages relating to the alleged misrepresentation of the property.
He then instructed the solicitor to threaten legal action against his own firm should access to the property be denied. He told them that the letter needed “to be more aggressive” and that his own preferred course of action was to “go hard” in the claim for damages.
Once the sale completed there was no further opportunity for litigation.
It was only when Mr Wright left Ashley Wilson in February 2020, that colleagues found evidence that confirmed his direct conflict of interest against the firm’s own client. He was reported to the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
At the hearing, he admitted misconduct and accepted that his involvement fell below the expected standards of a solicitor. He described his decision to act for the sellers, despite his relationship with the purchaser, as “regrettable”.
Mr Wright was fined £32,000 for covertly working against his firm’s own client.