Rebecca Elvira Jones, 40, admitted 1983, practising at material time as assistant solicitor in firm of John Hodge Nichols Strickland in Queen's Square, Bristol, and subsequently employed by Avon County Council and Bristol City Council, fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £943 costs. Allegations substantiated she failed to reply to letters from other solicitors and from the Law Society and the Solicitors Complaints Bureau. Tribunal recognised that complaint arose out of a similar former incident which she believed had been dealt with. Tribunal observed that a failure to respond to correspondence caused inconvenience to other firms of solicitors and ill-served the profession's reputation.
Michael Howard Gledhill Taylor, 65, admitted 1964, practising at material time as Taylors, Scarborough, struck off and ordered to pay £1,341 costs. Allegation substantiated that he had been convicted of offence of dishonesty in the course of this practice as a solicitor. On 15 November 1996 he was sentenced to nine months imprisonment and fined £20,000. The conviction was for making a false statement to the Inland Revenue with intent to defraud. Tribunal noted that there were doubts as to his state of health although that factor had not been thought sufficient grounds to suspend the custodial sentence.
John Hugh Guyer, 48, admitted 1965, practising at material time under his own name in Southampton, fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £1,106 costs. He ceased to practise as a sole practitioner in April 1997. Allegations substantiated that he delivered accountant's report late and failed to deliver another accountant's report. Tribunal observed that the Law Society should be satisfied that any solicitor handled clients' money in strict observance of the Solicitors Accounts Rules. No clients' monies had been placed in jeopardy though. Tribunal recognised Guyer was owed a considerable sum in costs from a client, but it felt that he had not recognised his obligations.
