A law firm stalwart who misled her client for years that their claim had settled has agreed to be struck off the roll.
Zoe Lowe, who was with Hertfordshire firm Ewart Price for almost 25 years before leaving in 2020, missed court deadlines for submitting evidence and accepted an offer lower than her client had already rejected.
She then kept up the pretence that the claim was ongoing for more than four years before the client complained and the misconduct emerged.
While Lowe accepted acting dishonestly and her resulting sanction, she told the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal the incident happened at a time when the firm’s only other PI fee earner left and she felt an increased workload and uncertainty about her future.
Without her colleague she felt ‘isolated’ and admitted now she had been ‘too embarrassed’ to inform her manager – although she stated this was no reflection on the firm.
The tribunal heard that Lowe, a solicitor since 1995, was instructed on a claim where liability was admitted but quantum contested. The defendant, a cleaning company, had offered through its solicitors Weightmans to settle for £7,500.
Lowe did not inform her client of the offer until long after the 21-day limit for a response, and in the meantime she missed deadlines for filing and serving documents and medical evidence.
When she did tell the client about the offer – but not the missed deadlines – the client asked to hold out for more, even though by this time Lowe knew that an improved offer was unlikely.
Weightmans came forward with a new settlement offer of £5,000 which Lowe accepted without taking instructions.
She then gave misleading answers to her client’s questions about progress of the case for more than four years, making her think the claim was progressing when in fact it had ended. Lowe actively encouraged her client to give updates on her medical condition when she knew this information was irrelevant.
Lowe said in mitigation that she accepted the £5,000 offer because she feared her client would end up with nothing. When finding out she had missed deadlines she was ‘horrified, embarrassed and ashamed’ and then panicked and acted out of character. She expressed remorse and regret for her actions and was deeply sorry to her client. She stressed there was no financial benefit from her actions.
Lowe agreed to be struck off and to pay £4,721 costs.
