A veteran solicitor backdated a lasting power of attorney for her seriously ill client so it appeared the LPA was signed before the client went into hospital.
Susan Whitehead, a solicitor for 50 years, was struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal last month after admitting to dishonesty.
She also admitted ringing the hospital and pretending to be a close family friend in order to get information about the client.
Whitehead, who turns 76 this year, was a solicitor and partner at Oxford firm Ferguson Bricknell Solicitors, which was shut down by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in December.
Whitehead had acted for client A since 1982 but he suffered a stroke in April 2021 which led to cognitive decline and affected his ability to read.
A GP attended client A at his house in 9 July 2021 over his vascular dementia. Whitehead was not present on this date.
Client A was admitted to hospital the following day and subsequently exchanged emails with Whitehead about a lasting power of attorney being prepared on his behalf. The solicitor provided the document to the appropriate parties for signing, but asked them not to date the LPA.
She then submitted the LPA to the Office of the Public Guardian with the date of 9 July to show it was signed the day before the client was admitted to hospital. She accepted that the OPG would have been misled by the date and that she was aware that the client may not have been able to understand what she was saying at the time.
In late February 2022, the client was readmitted to hospital, but due to the family’s concerns about Whitehead, they insisted that callers had to provide a password before any medical information could be provided.
Whitehead phoned the hospital but could not provide the password, so she gave her name as that of a long-standing family friend who might be trusted enough to be given information. She accepted giving this name to avoid Client A’s children being aware that she had phoned the hospital.
It was agreed between the SRA and Whitehead that she should be struck off, and that she should pay £20,000 costs. The tribunal approved this sanction.
