A solicitor of more than 55 years has agreed to end his career after it was found he ran a rogue legal operation without any approval.
Hyam Lehrer received £86m in client money into a personal bank account over seven years after acting as an in-house lawyer for an estate agent.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority said Lehrer, who qualified in 1968, ran his practice without authorisation or insurance before he was suspended by the regulator almost a year ago.
The SRA said it was not in the public interest to refer Lehrer, who is now 83, to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal due to his age and illness. He agreed to apply immediately to take himself off the roll.
Lehrer’s conduct was alerted to the SRA in July after reports that he may have been undertaking reserved legal activities without proper authorisation.
It was found he had been acting as the lawyer for central London estate agent Messila House Ltd in the purchase of new-build apartments, approving draft contracts and leases on behalf of clients. He signed contracts on the company's behalf and effected its exchange, and also confirmed to the vendor’s solicitors that he was instructed to register the leases.
Lehrer admitted carrying out reserved legal activities, operating a client account and not having any insurance. He also admitted to having dealt with approximately 25 matters since 2017.
No evidence was found of dishonest conduct, misappropriation of client money, client loss or detriment.
Lehrer accepted that he acted without integrity and had failed to uphold public trust and confidence in the solicitors’ profession. At an early stage in the investigation, he admitted the conduct and stated that he had ‘done wrong’.
He agreed to pay £1,350 costs.
