An associate solicitor who created false time records to meet targets and transferred money from the client account to make up a fee shortfall has been struck off the roll.
Nicholas Devlin, admitted in 2015 and a wills and probate solicitor with Cumbria firm Cartmell Shepherd, moved around £216,000 from the client account to pay for work he had purportedly completed. His misconduct, which had gone on for two and a half years, was uncovered by his head of department who noted a ‘worrying pattern’ of Devlin billing early but failing to produce documentation.
During an internal investigation, Devlin produced a list of nine client matters where time was recorded and billed without work being undertaken. In several cases he billed for drafting wills but did not send the drafts to clients for months.
Devlin was found to have actively sought to suppress the discovery of these irregularities, instructing the firm's credit control team not to follow up on certain matters in case clients were alerted to what was happening. He later admitted he was ‘burying his head in the sand’, fearing that clients would start to request progress on work he had not done.
Devlin admitted all allegations including dishonesty. During an interview with his firm, he claimed to have been ‘overwhelmed with the workload and had made a stupid decision’, recording time in the hope he would get the work done within a week. In a further statement, he said he felt unable to cope – a situation made worse by having to split his time between offices and supervise support staff.
In correspondence with the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the firm’s director Jonathan Carroll said it had corrected all matters and made sure no client was disadvantaged or suffered any financial loss. He denied that Devlin had ever been under undue pressure and said the solicitor had himself requested increased fee targets and a salary to go with them. The firm had authorised Devlin to stop taking new work, to block out his diary and to use additional support staff.
Devlin agreed to be struck off and pay £10,000 costs. This outcome was rubber-stamped by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
