Will: Solicitor did not tell client to seek independent advice
A partner who was a beneficiary of a will he drafted, without advising his client to take independent legal advice, has been rebuked by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
According to a notice published yesterday, Simon Roderick James, former senior partner at Ansons Solicitors in Lichfield, subsequently disclaimed the gift.
He drafted the will in which his client left him a gift of £22,727.
The client did not receive independent legal advice on this, nor did he advised her to obtain it. The gift was not disclosed to anyone at the firm at the time the will was drafted or executed.
Mr James was in breach of paragraph 6.1 of the SRA code of conduct, which prohibits solicitors from acting if there is an own interest conflict or a significant risk of one. Here there was a risk of one.
The SRA described a rebuke as an “appropriate and proportionate” sanction, given Mr James’s experience and the need for a public sanction “to maintain standards and to acknowledge there has been a breach of regulatory requirements”.
The risk of repetition was low, the regulator added, as Mr James has retired from practice. There has also been no lasting significant harm to clients and no financial gain from the misconduct as he had disclaimed the gift.
“There were no allegations of dishonesty or lack of integrity and Mr James had not acted intentionally in breach of his regulatory obligations,” the notice added.
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