A veteran solicitor who admitted favouring a particular client in two property deals where other clients were disadvantaged has agreed to be struck off the roll.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal that Angela Stanton, admitted in 1980, had represented the property developer client (Client B) in multiple transactions which included two where he jointly owned the property with people with whom he was in a personal relationship.
But for the co-owners in each case, they ended up with much less than they expected from the sales due to multiple cases of misconduct by Stanton, who is 73 and has since retired.
In one matter, the solicitor allowed unauthorised use and transfer of sale proceeds, then provided misleading and inaccurate information when the co-owner started asking questions. The co-owner had expected to receive around £500,000 from the sale and Stanton, who worked at the time for south London firm Beverley Morris Solicitors, told her the whole sum of money would be stored on account. Stanton omitted to say that after all liabilities had been met, the co-owner would be entitled to only £20,000.
The co-owner carried on in the mistaken belief she had the full sum coming, and even exchanged contracts on a new-build property, paying a £48,500 deposit.
After a further request that the sale money was secure, the co-owner received two financial statements from Stanton’s firm, both indicating that it was holding £507,000 as ‘funds from sale’. These statements were later shown to be incorrect.
When it emerged over time that the proceeds were much less than expected, the co-owner rang Stanton to ask where the money was. Stanton replied to her: ‘I don’t know.’
It later transpired that when the property had been sold, a third party had been paid £300,000 to pay back a debt owed by Client B, with a further six-figure sum also paid to another lender. Stanton admitted to the tribunal that she failed to act in the co-owner’s best interests and preferred client B’s interests.
In a separate matter but again involving client B, Stanton had been instructed to register a charge against a property.
Client B attended the firm’s offices to sign documents but had not brought the co-owner. He told Stanton she would sign them at home. Without the co-owner’s knowledge, client B arranged a charge on the property which included provision to pay a lender £120,000 of the proceeds. The co-owner received no letters or calls from Stanton’s firm and the solicitor accepted she failed to act in a client’s best interests or provide a competent service.
After a 46-year career as a solicitor, Stanton agreed with the SRA to being struck off and paying £18,000 costs. She apologised for the rule breaches and said she regretted allowing herself to prefer the interests of one client.
