Ban for firm owner who acted in cemetery investment scheme

The owner of a closed West Midlands firm has been banned after advising on a multi-million-pound investment scheme involving the sale of cemetery plots. 

Between 2014 and 2019 Paul Harris, of Aldridge, West Midlands, was director and owner of Willenhall-based The Law Practice (UK) Ltd. The Solicitors Regulation Authority intervened in The Law Practice in August 2020, citing reason to suspect dishonesty on the part of Harris.

Harris, 63, a legal executive, also owned and ran predecessor practice Jerome Solicitors between 2011 and 2014.

In a decision published today, the SRA disclosed that in 2016-17 The Law Practice acted for clients in their purchase of exclusive burial rights at two proposed cemeteries. Over £9m was received into the client bank account on behalf of 367 investors. A further £167,000 was received on behalf of six investors purchasing burial rights at another cemetery.

An SRA investigation found that Harris gave inadequate advice to clients about the risks of what was a high-yield investment scheme bearing ‘the common characteristics of a fraudulent financial arrangement’. The SRA found no evidence that any work had been carried out to turn the land into burial plots. One investor had received no return on his £100,000.

In one instance, Harris allowed a client to use the client account as a banking facility.

Separately, the SRA found Harris had dishonestly taken a success fee from a personal injury client upon the settlement of her claim. He failed to account to the client for damages to which she was entitled, causing a £174,000 shortage on the client account. He transferred the money to the firm and failed to return it to the client after being ordered to do so by the Legal Ombudsman.

Harris also failed to keep proper accounting records and to store files properly when his firm closed.

A section 43 order was imposed on Harris barring him from involvement in a legal practice without the SRA’s approval. He was ordered to pay the SRA’s costs of £1,350.