A solicitor who told his divorce client to pay fees into his personal bank account has been fined £10,000 by the regulator. According to a Solicitors Regulation Authority decision notice, Amarjit Singh Bhachu received a total of £14,372 over the course of almost two years without the divorce being resolved.
Bhachu then advised the client that his fees for a final hearing would be £12,000 and said he would continue to act only if the payment was made.
The client then raised a formal complaint with Bhachu’s firm, Middlesex practice Waterfords Solicitors, which repaid her the fees in full plus an amount in compensation. Bhachu resigned from the firm and the client’s final hearing had to be adjourned while she found alternative representation.
The decision notice states that Bhachu had made the request for fees to be paid directly to him from a work email address. The client instructed Bhachu in his official capacity at the firm but did not receive an engagement letter from the firm or any bills.
Bhachu, a solicitor for 33 years, admitted directing his client to make payments directly into his personal account rather than the firm’s client account.
The SRA said his conduct demonstrated a ‘disregard for his regulatory obligations and a lack of integrity’. But the regulator opted to deal with the matter through its internal powers, adding the misconduct was ‘not so serious that sanction by the tribunal is necessary or proportionate in order to maintain professional standards and to uphold public confidence in the solicitors’ profession’. The decision from last summer to refer Bhachu to the SDT was overturned in light of the agreed outcome with him.
Bhachu had a clear regulatory history and this was considered to be an isolated incident where he admitted he ‘made an error’ in receiving payments into his personal account.
He agreed to pay a £10,402 fine and £4,032 costs.
