A brother and sister banned from the roll over their involvement in a £100m scheme to sell property spaces have appealed the finding.

Patrick and Margaret Hetherington were both struck off in August after a week-long hearing at the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. They were found to have acted dishonestly because they knew the property scheme was dubious and deliberately failed to provide clients with full advice in order to protect the income the sales were generating.

The tribunal confirmed yesterday that both former solicitors have appealed its decision to the High Court (Administrative Court). The sanctions order remains in force pending the court’s decision.

The pair, partners with the Hetherington Partnership based in Merseyside, received fees of almost £3m for acting on behalf of 6,792 clients buying parking spaces or storage pods from companies linked to a single entity. The Hetheringtons denied wrongdoing, saying they had urged all clients to obtain independent financial advice.

Topics