Solicitor admitted dishonest billing, estate overcharging and client account shortages
A solicitor has been struck off the Roll after admitting a series of dishonest actions involving probate matters, including improper transfers from client accounts, overcharging estates and failing to notify executors of legal costs.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) ordered that Mark Grenville Davies be removed from the profession following an agreed outcome with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). The decision was made after a hearing on 27 May 2026 and formally recorded on 1 June 2026.
Davies, who was admitted as a solicitor in October 1985, practised at Bennett Richmond Solicitors, first as a partner and later as a sole practitioner. He also held several compliance roles within the firm, including Compliance Officer for Legal Practice, Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration, and Money Laundering Reporting Officer.
The misconduct came to light after Davies made a self-referral to the SRA in June 2023. The regulator subsequently launched a forensic investigation into the firm’s affairs. During that investigation, Davies admitted engaging in improper billing practices when the firm’s overdraft facility was approaching its limit.
Investigators identified £13,740 in improper transfers from five probate matter client ledgers between June 2022 and April 2023. The tribunal heard that invoices were raised for work that had not been undertaken, allowing money to be transferred from the client account to the office account and preventing the firm from exceeding its overdraft limit. The resulting shortage in the client account was never replaced.
The investigation also found that, over a period between October 2012 and May 2023, Davies failed to notify executors of legal costs before transferring funds from the client account to the office account on four probate matters. Between October 2012 and May 2023, 47 invoices totalling £47,290.25 were raised without being provided to the executors.
In addition, an independent cost analysis concluded that two estates had been overcharged. One estate was overcharged by £9,624.98, while another was overcharged by £9,769.13 between December 2015 and April 2023. The tribunal heard that Davies accepted the invoices did not properly reflect the work undertaken.
Davies admitted all allegations and accepted that his conduct before November 2019 had been dishonest.
The tribunal found his culpability to be “extremely high”, concluding that his actions were deliberate and would be regarded as dishonest by ordinary and decent people. It was determined that striking off was the only appropriate and proportionate sanction.
No order for costs was made after the tribunal noted that Davies had been declared bankrupt in September 2025.