A 79-year old solicitor who was working more than 80 hours a week has agreed to be struck off the roll after admitting that he overcharged four clients a total of £474,108.

George Edward Nosworthy, admitted in 1965, was the principal solicitor at residential conveyancing and probate firm Cree Godfrey & Wood.

According to a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal endorsement of an agreed outcome, Nosworthy admitted to overcharging clients in four estate management matters over several years. The overcharging came to light after the Solicitors Regulation Authority received the firm's accountant’s report for the year 2018- 19.

Nosworthy overcharged four clients in the region of £474,108, according to a statement of agreed facts. The tribunal judgment notes that Nosworthy regularly worked seven days a week, in excess of 80 hours. He ‘struggled to control the management and volumes of work, and the increases in the costs of running a solicitors practice, particularly PII contributions, make it difficult to achieve the profitability required to remain a viable practice in the context of cash flow requirements’.

Nosworthy was ‘old school’ and struggled to keep up with the changes to regulation and complex requirements of maintaining a legal practice in a modern world.

‘In attempting to “catch up” all the time he failed to address the essential requirement to maintain cash flow. Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business and the peculiar nature of a solicitors practice often means that cash flow is not available in the same as a retain business,' the tribunal ruling continued. 'GN accordingly billed some matters knowing that the sums were improper. He was often exhausted when dealing with transfers on a Sunday evening and sometimes took monies from the most convenient source when not knowing whether they were properly billable or no. He has accepted such practice as dishonest,’ the judgment says.

SRA intervention in 2021 was stressful but a ‘welcome relief’ for Nosworthy. ‘He was able to stop working 80 hours a week and for the first time in years and have a rest.’

Nosworthy sold his business premises and the family home he shared with his 74-year-old wife. This enabled him to put £760,000 into an individual voluntary agreement to repay creditors.

The judgment said that Nosworthy 'is ashamed that his personal failings in controlling the management of his practice led him to act in the manner that he did. He has shown true remorse and attempted through the sale of his business and personal assets to recompense the losses as far as he is able. By doing so he has affected his family’s financial future but takes full responsibility in that.'  

As well as agreeing to be struck off, Nosworthy agreed to pay the SRA’s costs of £36,157.

 

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