The head of a family law team is accused of misleading his client into believing he had lodged an application for a decree nisi when he had not, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal was told today.
Daniel Jones, admitted in August 2011, was a partner of the now-closed Salford firm Berrymans Lace Mawer LLP when he was instructed by Person A for what ‘should have been a straightforward divorce’. Jones told Person A he would apply for a decree nisi in either October or November 2019 the tribunal heard. The decree nisi was in fact only lodged a year later in November 2020, Hanne Stevens, for the Solicitors Regulation Authority, told the three-person panel.
Jones denies acting dishonestly.
Stevens said Jones, who resigned from the firm in March 2021, was also accused of being reckless. She said: ‘In October 2019, the respondent said he would apply for a decree nisi. Person A had to constantly chase the respondent for an update in relation to the decree nisi. The SRA submit the respondent led her to believe the application was issued in or around November 2019 but there were delays at the court and it was not the fault of [Jones] or the firm.
‘The client told the respondent the situation was having an impact on her wellbeing and mental health and felt she was being lied to.’
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Stevens added: ‘Unfortunately, it was not until the respondent left the firm in 2021 that Person A was told the truth in the matter. The application for a decree nisi had not been made at all.’
The decree nisi was filed in court in November 2020, the tribunal heard. Stevens read out a complaint made by Person A to the complaint partner at the firm which said she was ‘extremely frustrated’ adding: ‘I am a solicitor myself and if I was providing the level of service I have been given, I would not still have my job.’
The hearing continues.
