Trevor Howarth barred from legal leadership after public funds vanish and firm collapses owing £5m
The former head of one of Britain’s largest criminal legal aid firms has been disqualified from managing any legal practice after failing to pay out tens of thousands in public funds meant for expert witnesses.
Trevor Howarth, once the director and owner of One Legal, is now barred from holding any leadership position in a Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)-regulated firm. The SRA’s decision arrives more than five years after the collapse of One Legal, which remains in administration with debts nearing £5 million and no prospect of repayment.
At the heart of the SRA’s findings is a £54,000 black hole in the firm’s client account — money received from the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) that was never passed on to disbursements. Investigators found that in 36 separate matters, cash intended for expert fees was redirected into the firm’s client account and then transferred again into the business account.
One Legal had grown rapidly, establishing offices in London and the North West and taking on major legal aid work. The firm made headlines in 2016 after acquiring Kaim Todner, catapulting it into the ranks of the UK’s biggest criminal law practices. But that expansion was short-lived. In December 2019, One Legal collapsed and entered administration.
Embed from Getty ImagesHowarth, who previously served as legal director for the Stobart Group and co-founded Stobart Barristers, once provoked controversy by describing traditional legal aid firms as “wounded animals waiting to die”. Ironically, One Legal would become a casualty of the same struggling legal aid sector he once scorned.
The SRA concluded that Howarth had breached his managerial duties by permitting cash shortages and failing to ensure disbursements were paid. He was disqualified and ordered to pay £1,350 in costs. His former colleague Richard Botting, One Legal’s head of finance and administration, was also disqualified from holding any manager or employee role within an SRA-regulated law firm. He too must pay £1,350 in costs.
The disqualifications come as administrators continue to untangle the remnants of One Legal. As of January this year, administrator fees had topped £312,000, with the total owed to creditors standing at approximately £5 million. According to the latest reports, those owed money are unlikely to see any of it returned.
The scandal has reignited debate over oversight of legal aid firms, particularly those handling vast volumes of publicly funded criminal defence work. Critics argue that the current regulatory and funding frameworks leave room for financial mismanagement, especially in firms operating at scale with rapid growth trajectories.
Howarth’s fall from grace serves as a cautionary tale. Once a high-profile figure in the legal sector, he now joins a growing list of legal executives disqualified for failing to safeguard client and public money. And for One Legal’s creditors — from expert witnesses to service providers — it’s a loss from which they may never recover.
