A former law firm partner has been found to have acted dishonestly despite his attempt to resile from an earlier confession.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal found that Russell Shapiro allowed official documents relating to title and ownership of properties to be sent to HM Land Registry with the intention of concealing the true owners of the properties.
Shapiro, who was head of conveyancing with London firm Gelbergs, had initially admitted misconduct but denied he had been dishonest. Instead he blamed former colleague Graeme Taylor, partner and head of probate, saying Taylor had been the perpetrator who sent out documents to make it appear they had been created by Shapiro.
Taylor did not attend the hearing and admitted misconduct, though not dishonesty, accepting he would be struck off. In the event, the tribunal found both solicitors, who had each qualified in 1984, had been dishonest and ordered that they be struck off.
The matter was reported to the Solicitors Regulation Authority by solicitors acting for the beneficiaries of the late Mohammed Taj, who died in 2007 leaving a portfolio of 50 properties and an estate worth £8.7m net.
Gelbergs, which has since closed, was instructed to act for the executors in the administration of the estate. The tribunal heard that in eight of the 26 transactions, properties were transferred into the names of ‘nominees’ who were fictitious aliases used by one of the executors. The properties, valued at more than £2.1m, were later transferred to the executor for no consideration.
Taylor denied acting for any personal gain but accepted the Land Registry was deliberately misled, albeit with the interests of his clients in mind.
Shapiro submitted there was no evidence he had been involved in the creation of any documents sent to the Land Registry, and said this was a plan carried out by Taylor. He said he had found the SRA interview, where he admitted filing these documents, quite intimidating and he should have defended his position robustly. When proceedings were served, Shapiro said, it became clear the matter was more serious than he thought and it was only then that he uncovered what he described as the ‘true level of deceit’ he had been victim to.
But the tribunal could see nothing in Shapiro’s case which gave any reason to doubt his initial account, and it was found that the solicitor allowed documents to be submitted which he knew to be misleading.
Taylor was ordered to pay £60,000 costs and Shapiro £10,000.
