News

Llangwm: Pembrokeshire solicitor struck-off for preying on the dead

Published

8 years ago

April 18, 2016

Tom Sinclair

Sign for Steve Thomas & Co in Llangwm (Pic: Google Streetview)

EXCLUSIVE

A PEMBROKESHIRE solicitor has been struck off the roll by the Solicitor’s Disciplinary Tribunal for dishonestly transferring money from the estates of deceased clients to his firm’s office account.

Edgar Stephen George Thomas of Steve Thomas & Co Solicitors, Deerland Chambers, Llangwm, Haverfordwest attended a hearing in London between March 14-16. Thomas represented himself.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority was represented by Mr Edward Levey, a barrister from Fountain Court Chambers, London.

The sum identified as missing from client’s accounts was £144,326.25

ALLEGATION

The allegations against Thomas were that he failed to provide adequate or accurate information to clients about likely overall costs at the outset of matters or throughout the conduct of them where required, and thereby breached rules and transferred sums from his Client Account to his Office Account in respect of his fees otherwise than in accordance with Rule 19 of the Solicitors’ Accounts Rules 1998

The tribunal also head that on or about 16 June 2014, Thomas provided misleading information to a client as to the reasons for delay in distributing the proceeds of an estate.

APPLICATION TO ADJOURN

At the start of the hearing Thomas said he wanted an adjournment as he had not seen all the documents. He accepted that the application to adjourn should have been made at an earlier stage, however he only became aware of this on reading the Tribunal’s practice note on adjournments, which he had read for the first time that morning. The Respondent accepted what was contained in the note, and asked the Tribunal to exercise its discretion in allowing an adjournment. Further, in view of the length of time of these proceedings, there was no real urgency. He no longer held a practising certificate, and had not worked since July 2014. He had not held himself out to be a solicitor, and did not hold any client money. In the circumstances, there would be no prejudice in adjourning the proceedings.

Mr Levey submitted that the position was entirely unsatisfactory, and that the case should proceed. The Respondent had failed to file and serve his own documents, despite numerous directions requiring him to do so, which left the Applicant in the position of opening and presenting its case, without knowing what the Respondent’s case was. Mr Levey did not accept that there was anything further to be disclosed to the Respondent, and submitted that his application to adjourn on the basis of lack of disclosure was total obfuscation and an attempt to avoid dealing with the issues.

The Respondent told the Tribunal he had been arrested by Dyfed-Powys police in relation to these matters, and remained on police bail. He was due to return to the police station in May 2016. He understood that the police were still carrying out enquiries, but that they could attend to arrest him at any time before his bail to return date. Given that, the possibility of criminal proceedings was imminent.

THE LOCAL PAPERS

The Respondent explained that he lived in a small rural community, and that the outcome of the proceedings was sure to make the local papers. If the allegations against him were found proved, then his community would see the findings, making it impossible for him to have a fair trial. The Respondent apologised for the lateness of the application. He explained that he had not previously had the benefit of legal advice, but having recently contacted solicitors, he was advised that he should seek to adjourn these proceedings until the outcome of the criminal matter. Mr Levey submitted that as the Respondent had not yet been charged, there was no possible basis, under the Tribunal’s practice direction, to justify adjourning the hearing; charges had not yet been laid so criminal proceedings could not be described as “imminent”. The Applicant had contacted Dyfed-Powys police with a view to ascertaining how they intended to proceed. Unfortunately, no response had been received from them, and the Applicant was unable to provide any update to the Tribunal. The Tribunal refused the Respondent’s application to adjourn the hearing.

Thomas explained that he had set up his firm as a sole practitioner in 2005. As a result of advice from his accountant, he changed the firm to a company. He was the only person in his practice who dealt with the probate matters which were the subject of the allegations. He denied that he had overcharged his clients, stating that he “honestly and truly believe that the charges were correct.” The cash shortage of £144,326.25 identified by the investigator in his first report had been rectified by the Respondent delivering bills of costs to the clients.

COMPLETELY CULPABLE

The Tribunal found the Respondent to be completely culpable for the breaches; the misconduct having arisen as a direct result of his sole actions. The Respondent was wholly responsible for the transfers and was the only fee earner with conduct of the matters. The Respondent was an experienced solicitor, who disregarded the regulations put in place to protect his clients. He utilised the funds in his client account in such a way as to demonstrate that he did not believe that he was accountable to his clients. His actions were planned and calculated. Of most concern was the blatant dishonesty he had displayed in abusing his position of trust. He deliberately and calculatedly delayed in distributing in full a number of estates, and during the delay drew down on the monies in those estates. The Tribunal found that in acting in the way that he did, the Respondent had caused harm not only to his clients and beneficiaries, but also to the trust the public places in the profession and the provision of legal services.

The Tribunal Ordered that the Respondent, Edgar Stephen George Thomas, solicitor, be struck off the Roll of Solicitors and it further he do pay costs of £76,000.00.

Farming

Animal health and welfare workshops help family farm shape future business

Published

4 mins ago

April 29, 2024

Tom Sinclair

AN eagerness to learn new skills and knowledge is helping mother and son Dianna and Iestyn Spary to continually improve their livestock farming enterprise and build a financially sustainable business fit for the future.

Technical expertise and good business sense are not qualities the Sparys lack since embarking on an impressive number of Farming Connect workshops, covering a range of animal health and welfare topics.

“It’s been an amazing opportunity, we have learned so much that we can apply within the day to day running of our farm and herd, and we can draw on that knowledge as we look at developing new enterprises and diversifications,’’ says Dianna.

She is the fifth generation of her family to farm at Goytre Farm at New Church West, Chepstow, Iestyn the sixth.

Together they farm 110 hectares, running a Hereford-cross beef suckler herd and also rearing beef cattle purchased as baby calves, including more recently British Blues, taking these through to slaughter.

Although they have been immersed in agriculture all their lives, they recognise that it is an industry that is constantly changing as new research and ideas are rolled out and applied.

This is where the Farming Connect workshops have been so incredibly valuable, says Dianna.

“You are never too old to learn, things are changing all the time. If we hadn’t got involved in attending the workshops, we would never have known about some of those new ways of doing things.’’

From learning how to maximise suckler cow productivity and protecting youngstock health to understanding diseases such as Johne’s and bovine TB, the animal health and welfare training workshops have been “enormously valuable’’, she adds.

The pair have tapped into Farming Connect accredited training courses covering areas such as calf management, health and housing, body condition scoring and safe use of veterinary medicines.

“You name it we have done it,’’ says Dianna.

They were announced the winners of the 2023 Farming Connect Animal Health and Welfare Award at the Lantra Cymru Awards in January.

The knowledge gained through Farming Connect workshops and training has helped inform changes in the business.

“We now monitor cattle weights more closely and have introduced different ways of feeding,’’ Dianna explains.

“We have also been revamping all the cattle sheds and have a couple of new ones that will be going up.

“We’ve also invested in calf jackets and if there are any drops in weights, we are more responsive with feed intakes, little things like that.’’

Iestyn has also benefited from a number of sheep-related topics offered through the animal health workshops.

Through the Farming Connect Advisory Service, they have received specialist veterinary advice on their Herd Health Plan with a focus on incoming stock and biosecurity. They have also had guidance on soil health through the soil clinic.

The Sparys largely use traditional farming methods at Goytre Farm where they have several hay meadows.

All feed is produced on-farm. “By doing everything in-house we know exactly what we are feeding and that’s important to us,’’ says Dianna.

That distinctiveness, which sets them apart from some of the more mainstream farming systems, has given them the confidence to consider establishing a diversification into meat box sales, what Dianna describes as a ‘farm to fork’ approach.

Working with a local butcher who has an abattoir licence, they hope to do everything on-site, from slaughter through to hanging the carcass for 28 days, and then selling cuts direct to the consumer.

“We have also spoken to a chef who is going to produce some recipe cards for us to include in the boxes along with a bit of history of where the meat has come from,’’ says Dianna.

Another future project could be converting stone barns in the farmyard to holiday accommodation.

To help focus their minds on their plans, the Sparys will get guidance at a Farming Connect diversification surgery; they have also signed up for a ‘planning a diversification’ training course and will attend a ‘Dos and Don’ts of Diversification’ event in the coming weeks.

For Iestyn, another form of diversification, into agricultural contracting, has provided a secondary income stream.

His customer base is largely farms with smaller acreages with crops that require harvesting or spraying.

Farming Connect has helped with this process too as Iestyn has gained his Level 2 Award in the Safe Use of Pesticides (PA1) and Safe Application of Pesticides Using Vehicle mounted Boom Sprayer Equipment (PA2).

He also offers field maintenance and fencing and works on a neighbouring farm during the lambing season.

This is where Farming Connect has again helped; through the animal health workshops, he has covered modules advising on the prevention of lambing losses and lameness, improving lamb performance post-weaning and parasite controls.

Dianna says the opportunities available through Farming Connect have really helped to drive the family farming business forward.

“We have a good relationship with our local Farming Connect development officer Lisa Powell, she has been brilliant in giving us advice on which courses and workshops are right for us and signing us up for those,’’ she says.

All your achievements, training and knowledge transfer activities are saved within your personal, online Storfa Sgiliau account, the unique, online professional development tool, available for you to view and download at any time from your BOSS (Business Online Support Service) account.

Education

Lib Dem leader meets student union after scrapping of teacher training

Published

4 hours ago

April 29, 2024

Tom Sinclair

Last week, the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds visited Aberystwyth University to meet students following the announcement that the University will be scrapping their Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) program.

The announcement comes after the publication of an Estyn inspection report last year, which found that the institution had “been too slow” when it came to prioritising student support.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have now called for the University to produce and implement an action plan that will enable the reintroduction of this course at the earliest opportunity, as well as for the Uni to rectify any similar shortcomings in other training programs.

Commenting, the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said:

“Aberystwyth university has long been seen as a cornerstone of education here in Wales, and its role in shaping the future of Welsh-medium education is pivotal.

However, the decision by the Education Workforce Council to withdraw accreditation for their teacher training program now puts this at risk.

The report published by Estyn rightfully identified several flaws in the Uni’s approach to supporting student teachers, along with requiring the University to make significant improvement.

The decision of the EWC suggest that these improvements have not been made.

We are now calling on the University to get their act together, fix the shortcomings in this program and begin plans to reintroduce the course as soon as possible.

Commenting, a spokesperson for the Welsh Young Liberals said: “There was an overwhelming lack of support, especially for Disabled Students, which has been consistent since 2020.

Previous lecturers were always late, and assignments were marked late and inconsistently.

As a joint honours student my timetable is very erratic, and this has an adverse effect on my wellbeing.

This does not however, mean that the course should be cut, Aberystwyth university should be looking to improve the course and help deliver the next generation of teachers.”

Commenting, the Welsh Liberal Democrat PPC for Ceredigion Mark Williams said: “The reputation of Aberystwyth University as a well-respected centre of education is rightfully a source of pride for many residents here in Ceredigion.

This is why it is so dis-heartening to hear that the Uni have failed to take the recommendations in the 2023 Estyn report seriously, leading them into the embarrassing position of losing their accreditation which risks delivering a severe blow to the future of Welsh-medium education.

The lack of foresight from the Uni in this regard is deeply worrying and I hope that, for the sake of both the students and the wider community, they take all the steps needed to restart the course at the earliest opportunity.”