Solicitor who forged client's £3,000 court win struck off

A solicitor who forged a court order that appeared to award his client over £3,000 over the removal of Japanese knotweed has been struck off.

Albert Bargery had actually made no progress in his client’s claim against ‘Mr A’, who owned land which had become overrun with the invasive plant. The client wanted Mr A to pay for specialist services costing about £3,000 to remove the knotweed from the land, on which the client owned commercial premises.

Bargery, 38, was a solicitor at Aylesbury firm Parrott & Coales LLP. By May 2018 the client was concerned with slow progress and told Bargery he would go to court himself to seek an update, the SDT heard.

Bargery responded by handing the client a document purporting to be a court order that awarded the client £3,075.

At the end of September 2018, finding his money had still not been paid and having repeatedly contacted Bargery, the client attended Parrott & Coales. There, Bargery handed the client a copy of an email dated 25 September 2018 which appeared to show the opposing solicitors were being chased for payment. 

Bargery later admitted he had forged the court order and the email. He said the order disguised the fact no progress had been made, while the email was designed to mislead the client into believing the order was genuine and that Bargery had attempted to follow it up.

After Bargery left Parrott & Coales in December 2018, the firm did not find a client file and had to create one to continue to act on the Mr A matter.

In May 2020, the SRA made enquiries with the County Court Money Claims Centre about the court order. The centre had no record of such an order.

The SRA also contacted Bargery’s new employer: he falsely claimed he was unaware of the substance of the SRA’s allegations, had complied with a request for information from the SRA, and had not seen the allegedly fabricated court order and email.

Bargery did not advance mitigation at the SDT. He was struck off the roll.