SDT bans David Nigel Bird over £185k client account misuse and false records
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) has struck off David Nigel Bird, a solicitor and former partner at HP&B in Wrexham, after finding he misused client funds totalling £185,881.79 over a five-year period. He was also ordered to pay £11,000 in costs.
Mr Bird, admitted as a solicitor in 1987, was dismissed from his partnership in November 2011. A forensic investigation conducted by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) revealed that between April 2006 and September 2011, he drew 45 cheques on the firm’s client account and diverted them for his own use or other unauthorised purposes.
Investigators found that 39 cheques worth £95,883.49 were payable directly to Mr Bird, four cheques totalling £88,152 were payable to a Britannia Building Society account in his name, and one cheque for £500 was made payable to Principality Building Society re: “D N Bird.” Another cheque for £1,346.30 could not be traced.
Embed from Getty ImagesCheque stubs and requisition forms falsely recorded the payees as clients, creditors, or probate beneficiaries. Letters to third parties were also prepared to reinforce the pretence that legitimate payments were being made. In reality, the funds were deposited into bank accounts held either solely by Mr Bird or jointly with his wife.
When interviewed by an SRA forensic officer in June 2012, Mr Bird admitted writing and presenting all of the cheques. Through his representatives, he later confirmed that while some of the money had been used as a contingency fund for potential claims against the firm, more than £70,000 had been used for personal purposes.
The SDT found that his conduct breached multiple provisions of the Solicitors’ Code of Conduct 2007 and the Solicitors’ Accounts Rules 1998, including acting without integrity, failing to act in clients’ best interests, and holding client money outside the proper accounts. The Tribunal also found that he created or falsified documents to conceal the withdrawals.
Dishonesty was central to the allegations. The Tribunal noted that the misconduct had taken place over several years and that Mr Bird had deliberately disguised transactions to prevent detection. It concluded that his behaviour was “wholly reprehensible.”
In mitigation, Mr Bird’s counsel, David McIntosh QC (Hon), said his client had repaid the full amount, cooperated with investigators, and expressed deep regret. He argued that Mr Bird’s actions were out of character in an otherwise unblemished 28-year career and that personal and financial pressures, including recession-related difficulties and liability for increased indemnity premiums, had contributed to his misconduct.
The Tribunal acknowledged that Mr Bird had no prior disciplinary history and had repaid the misused funds, meaning no clients suffered financial loss. However, it emphasised that repayment did not negate the seriousness of dishonesty involving client money.
Referring to Bolton v Law Society [1994], the panel said maintaining the reputation of the profession required the strongest sanction. “Any solicitor shown to have discharged his professional duties with anything less than complete integrity, probity and trustworthiness must expect severe sanctions,” the Tribunal noted.
The SDT therefore struck Mr Bird off the roll, ruling that no lesser penalty would be sufficient to protect public confidence in the profession.
Costs were agreed between the parties at £11,000, with payment terms to be negotiated.
The decision, handed down on 26 September 2013, reinforces the Tribunal’s position that dishonesty relating to client accounts almost inevitably results in removal from the profession, regardless of subsequent repayment or mitigation.