Yasmine Machin barred from legal practice after forging signatures and making false statements
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has banned a former conveyancing head from working in any law firm without prior approval, after she admitted dishonesty and forgery while employed at a Gloucester-based practice.
In a decision published on 29 September 2025, the SRA confirmed that Yasmine Machin, a licensed conveyancer and former employee of Tayntons (LS) Limited, is now subject to a Section 43 order under the Solicitors Act 1974. This order prevents her from being employed, remunerated, or involved in any way in solicitors’ practices, unless the regulator grants permission.
Machin, who took up the role of Head of Conveyancing in December 2022, engaged in misconduct between 23 and 25 January 2023. During that period, she signed multiple legal documents while falsely presenting herself as a colleague from the conveyancing department. Among the documents were borrower declaration certificates, solicitor verification certificates, a subordination deed, a buy-to-let loan agreement, and a legal charge.
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Her dishonesty did not end there. On 25 January 2023, Machin emailed another law firm involved in the matter. She falsely claimed that three directors of a client had signed documents in her colleague’s presence, when in fact her colleague was not there. She went further, stating she had met two directors in a car park and that her colleague had witnessed signatures, when she knew these statements were untrue. She then certified the documents as correctly signed.
The misconduct came to the attention of the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC), which regulates conveyancers. The CLC brought disciplinary proceedings, and in December 2024 its adjudication panel found Machin had acted dishonestly and without integrity. The panel imposed a 12-month disqualification and ordered her to pay £5,000 in costs. The disqualification prevented her from performing reserved legal activities or presenting herself as an authorised conveyancer.
In its decision, the SRA concluded that Machin’s behaviour made it undesirable for her to work in any legal practice it regulates. It noted that dishonesty and a lack of integrity strike at the heart of public trust in legal services.
Machin admitted to signing documents in her colleague’s name and attempting to conceal the deception through false statements. She also acknowledged that her actions lacked integrity and honesty. In mitigation, she cooperated with the investigation, admitted the facts, and expressed remorse and insight into her behaviour.
The SRA highlighted that dishonesty in legal services ranks among the most serious forms of misconduct, particularly given the reliance placed on the trustworthiness of legal professionals. It emphasised that her role as Head of Conveyancing meant she held a position of responsibility when she engaged in the misconduct.
The Section 43 order will remain in place indefinitely, meaning no solicitor, firm, or employee may employ or remunerate Machin in connection with legal practice without first seeking SRA approval. She must also pay £300 in investigation costs.
The regulator said the sanction was necessary to maintain public confidence in the profession and proportionate given the seriousness of the misconduct. It added that publishing the decision was in the public interest to ensure transparency.
The case underscores the regulatory bodies’ commitment to addressing dishonesty in the legal sector, ensuring that individuals who compromise the integrity of legal processes cannot continue to work unchecked within the profession