A senior solicitor has been reprimanded and banned from serving as a compliance officer for finance and administration (COFA) for a year after a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal found multiple rule breaches.
Gordon Mcpherson Keir, an equity partner at Birmingham firm Hadgkiss Hughes & Beale, qualified in 1985 and held both compliance officer roles. The Solicitors Regulation Authority alleged that Mr Keir signed professional indemnity insurance proposal forms incorrectly on four occasions between 2018 and 2022.
On these forms, he incorrectly stated that the firm’s accounts had not been qualified within the preceding five years. Mr Keir admitted to the errors, attributing them to a “genuine mistake rather than any deliberate attempt to mislead.”
According to evidence from the firm’s insurance broker, the insurer would not have altered its decision had the inaccuracy been disclosed. When the firm did disclose the issue, the insurer continued to provide cover. The SDT noted that the repeated nature of the inaccuracies demonstrated a serious lack of care, but the tribunal was not persuaded that the conduct crossed the line into dishonesty.
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The SRA had initially alleged a lack of integrity but dropped the charge of dishonesty, characterising the conduct as raising issues of professional standards instead. Mr Keir admitted breaching public trust but denied lacking integrity.
Residual balances and delayed reports
Mr Keir also admitted allowing residual balances to exist at the firm. While steps had been taken to address the problem, the tribunal recorded that no formal written plan existed, compliance was not adequately monitored or recorded, and he should have taken a more robust approach.
This failure, along with delays in submitting qualified accountant’s reports for 2020 and 2021, amounted to professional misconduct. The SDT accepted that these delays were caused by the pandemic, which placed the misconduct “at the lower end of seriousness.” However, he had failed to obtain the SRA’s approval for an extension of time to submit the reports.
The final allegation concerned a fellow partner authorising the payment of a residual balance to charity without obtaining the SRA’s permission. The unauthorised transfer of client money to charity, together with Mr Keir’s failure in his capacity as COFA to ensure compliance, rendered the conduct sufficiently serious to amount to professional misconduct.
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Despite a risk of harm, the tribunal found no actual harm occurred. Mitigating factors included a long and otherwise distinguished career, full cooperation with the SRA, and significant admissions of shortcomings. The absence of any finding of a lack of integrity, personal gain, or client loss also played a role in the decision.
Although the SDT found the misconduct arose from repeated failures in compliance and management over a prolonged period, the mitigating features suggested a reprimand would be the appropriate sanction. The tribunal also noted the considerable personal burden imposed by the proceedings and the absence of client loss.
Restrictions and costs
To protect the public and maintain proper professional standards, the tribunal ordered a 12-month restriction preventing Mr Keir from acting as a COFA. Before undertaking that role again, he must complete an SRA-approved COFA training course. Mr Keir was also ordered to pay costs of £39,000.