SRA: Sustained and deliberate efforts to defraud and deceive others
A part-time office manager who misappropriated nearly £550,000 from a law firm has been banned from working in the profession.
Patrick White, whose last known address was in Widnes, has been made subject to an order under section 43 of the Solicitors Act 1974, meaning he cannot work in the profession without the permission of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
According to an SRA notice published yesterday, Mr White worked at Liverpool firm Parkerwall between March 2019 and July 2023.
He worked as an employee but also provided consultancy services, arranging after-the-event insurance and introducing new work.
The SRA said it found that Mr White “misappropriated” £300,000 from a loan that was made to the firm into his own company’s bank account, as well as £210,295 from issue fees that were due to the firm.
Further, he forged the signature of firm owner Suzanne Wall on a loan agreement, claimed issue fees from the firm’s disbursements funding provider for 110 claims when only two had been issued, and took payment from a client due to the firm of £26,042.
The SRA said: “Mr White’s conduct was very serious. The forensic investigation uncovered compelling evidence of serious misappropriation of company and client funds on the part of Mr White, involving sustained and deliberate efforts to defraud and deceive others.
“This has had a damning effect on the firm and its finances and is wholly unethical and unjustifiable behaviour for a member of the profession, particularly someone in a senior position.
“Mr White’s conduct is illustrative of a complete and wilful disregard for the obligations the firm owed to its clients, for his own regulatory obligations as an employee of a regulated firm, and for the rules governing the profession as a whole.”
Parkerwall was placed into a creditors’ voluntary liquidator in February 2024. The liquidator’s latest report said no creditors were likely to receive a dividend as all funds received will go towards the costs of the liquidation.
Legal Futures understands that the firm also reported Mr White to the police.
