A paralegal in a Cardiff firm has agreed he should be barred from the profession after admitting to a string of misleading statements to different clients.

Jonathan Kinsey, formerly with Rausa Mumford Limited, had 15 years’ experience in claimant personal injury work but told his employers last September he had misled certain clients for the previous nine months.

Kinsey told one client that their claim had settled for £7,500 and he was chasing the settlement, when in fact none had been made.

On another occasion, he told a client there had been an application to change the track of their case, and another that their hearing date had been delayed by the pandemic. In both cases, the court had struck out the claims.

He also informed a client that proceedings had been issued and their claim was moving towards a hearing date, when in fact no proceedings had been issued. Finally, he told a fifth client that they had a hearing at the end 2020, despite no hearing having been listed.

From January to September 2020, Kinsey held regular supervision meetings at which he misled his managing director about the progress of cases in the same way he misled clients.

The managing director carried out remedial work on the cases and ensured no client suffered a loss. Kinsey resigned in September but stayed on for a month to help with the clear-up work.

The firm itself ceased to practise at the end of last year.

In mitigation, Kinsey said he had no previous history of this type of conduct and had exercised poor judgement due to ill health. He helped with necessary remedial work and co-operated with the SRA’s investigation, showing both insight and remorse.

He was given a section 43 order, stopping him working for any regulated firm without SRA permission, and agreed to pay £300 costs.