A solicitor who transferred a signature between documents has been fined more than £10,000 by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Laura Sainsbury, from west London firm Prince Evans Solicitors LLP, amended a deed for the transfer of property without her client’s knowledge or consent. She then lodged the amended deed at the Land Registry despite knowing it had not been properly executed.
The SRA found that Sainsbury removed the signature page from a form TR1 which had been completed by the transferor client and attached it to her client’s knowledge and consent form. She also failed to obtain instructions from the transferor client about the value of the property which caused the incorrect value to be entered on the title register.
The misconduct occurred in May 2018, but she then failed to report it to the SRA promptly after becoming aware of the client’s concerns in August 2019.
The regulator found that Sainsbury had acted recklessly and had caused potential harm – although no actual harm was suffered by the client.
This was not a simple mistake but a serious error in judgement, it was deemed, and Sainsbury was an experienced solicitor who admitted acting with a lack of integrity.
It was decided by the SRA that her financial penalty should be between 16% and 49% of her gross annual income.
In mitigation, the SRA accepted Sainsbury had shown genuine insight and remorse, this was an isolated incident, she made efforts to remedy the situation, and this was not a case involving dishonesty.
The fine was reduced by 15% to recognise Sainsbury’s admissions and cooperation with the investigation. She was fined £10,146 and ordered to pay costs of £1,350.
