SRA bans manager who drained firm of over £500k

Patrick White stole over £ 500,000 from Parkerwall Limited before it went bust.

A law firm’s former practice manager has been banned from the legal profession after taking more than half a million pounds from his employer before the firm collapsed into liquidation.

Patrick White, who worked part-time at Liverpool-based Parkerwall Limited from 2019 until 2023, forged the signature of firm owner Suzanne Wall on a loan agreement in 2021, according to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

Investigators found that White misappropriated £300,000 from a loan made to the firm and siphoned £210,295 from issue fees, claiming from the firm’s disbursements funder for 110 cases when only two had actually been issued.

The SRA said his actions were sustained, deliberate, and carried out with the intent to deceive. A forensic investigation uncovered what the regulator described as “serious misappropriation of company and client funds” alongside calculated efforts to conceal the wrongdoing.

“This has had a damning effect on the firm and its finances and is wholly unethical and unjustifiable behaviour for a member of the profession, particularly someone in a senior position,” the SRA stated.

The notice added that White’s conduct showed “a complete and wilful disregard” for the obligations owed to clients, for his regulatory duties as an employee of a regulated firm, and for the rules governing the profession.

White’s role at the firm included arranging after-the-event insurance policies for clients and sourcing new work. While not a solicitor, his senior position gave him access to financial processes and sensitive documents, including the firm’s disbursement funding arrangements.

As a result of his conduct, White has been made subject to a section 43 order, which prevents him from working for any regulated firm without SRA permission. He was also ordered to pay £600 in costs. There has been no indication in the SRA’s notice that criminal proceedings have been brought against him.

Parkerwall Limited, which employed just six people, was already financially vulnerable before the thefts were uncovered. Its last accounts, to 31 October 2022, showed net assets of only £5,398.

In February 2024, the firm entered voluntary liquidation. A progress report from April revealed unsecured creditors were owed £512,000, with eight individuals filing claims worth £62,000. Liquidators warned there was no prospect of a dividend for any creditor.

The SRA concluded that the scale of White’s theft and the impact on the firm meant the sanction had to be decisive. “The public must be able to trust those in positions of responsibility in law firms,” the regulator noted. “This case serves as a clear warning of the consequences for those who breach that trust.”

The collapse of Parkerwall Limited leaves former clients and creditors facing significant losses, with no prospect of recovery. White’s ban effectively removes him from any position of authority in the legal sector — but the financial wreckage of his actions remains.