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I must confess to being shocked and saddened about this report. How could someone with 30 years as a solicitor and an unblemished record spend any amount of time, let alone many months in deceiving a client ? Also, there did not seem to be any financial or other obvious benefit to the solicitor, which often appears alongside dishonest behaviour. It sounds like the solicitor must have had a serious problem.

It is true that trust ought to be at the centre of solicitor-client relationships (although those of us with many years of experience know that sometimes one distrusts the other).

I am saddened that the SDT struck off the solicitor as if this is his only offence after 30 years, he ought to be helped not punished in the most drastic way. Surely there are other sanctions that would not have wrecked the man's career and could have protected the public. I am also saddened by the outrage of the others commenting here and notice that only one person mentions the word "mercy" . Who among us has not made a mistake or suffered a problem?

Whilst we should try to keep the reputation of solicitors at the highest level, is there no room for compassion?