Solicitor struck off for lying to clients about cases

An experienced solicitor who misled four different clients about how their case was progressing has been struck off the roll.

Richard Michael Cohen, admitted in 1998, had told bosses at his firm, Rudds Solicitors based in Essex, he had ‘got myself into a muddle’ but later admitted he was dishonest and reckless in his handling of matters.

Whilst in practice as a partner, Cohen told one client he had sent notice of an injunction to another party’s solicitors and even said a hearing date had been set – none of which was true. He reassured other clients in a leasehold dispute that mediation was arranged and a hearing date scheduled when that was also incorrect.

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal said Cohen was fully culpable for his conduct and his dishonesty lasted in one case over two and a half years.

‘[Cohen] had an obligation to his clients to furnish them with the full and correct information,’ said the tribunal. ‘Instead he chose to deliberately provide them with incorrect information. When asked to provide updates in matters, he maintained his lies by providing further information that he knew was untrue.’

Cohen had been his firm’s compliance officer before leaving in January 2020. The firm itself closed almost three years later.

He told one client in a land dispute he was ‘taking care of things’ in response to repeated emails asking for updates. It was only when the client enquired with Basildon County Court to search for evidence of an application having been made that he realised nothing had been issued.

He gave a hearing date for 2019 but on the day of the purported hearing, when the client contacted the firm, Cohen was not available. He later accepted he had lied to the client and explained to his firm it was due to the pressure of work. He had told the client misleading statements on the basis it would ‘buy you time’ .

With the couple involved in the leasehold dispute, at one point Cohen emailed them with ‘good news’ that at a pre-hearing conference the judge had dismissed their opponents’ case. He advised them to wait for an order to come through.

Once Cohen had left the firm his colleagues discovered that the court order promised to the clients was not in the file. They had to write to the clients saying there was no such order and apologised for misleading them. A professional negligence claim against the firm was settled in 2021.

On a third matter, Cohen mishandled a grant of probate, again giving repeated assurances that matters were progressing when there was no evidence of the process even being started. The client said the treatment of her late mother’s estate had ‘destroyed my life’.

Cohen agreed with the SRA to be struck off but advanced mitigation not endorsed by the regulator. He said the office environment was ‘messy and claustrophobic’ following a merger of two offices. He agreed to pay £17,995 costs.