Decision -
prosecution
Outcome:
Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal order
Outcome date:
30 November 2017
Published date:
1 December 2017
Firm details
Firm or organisation at date of publication and at time of matters giving
rise to outcome
Name:
Clifford Chance LLP
Address(es):
10 Upper Bank Street, London, E14 5JJ
Firm ID:
447778
Outcome details
This outcome was reached by SRA decision.
Decision details
This notification relates to a decision to prosecute before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. This is an independent Tribunal which reaches its own decision after considering all the evidence, including any evidence put forward by the Respondent (s). The Tribunal had certified that there was a case to answer.
The matter was determined by the Tribunal on 30 November 2017.
The Order was made after the Tribunal considered an application to approve an agreed outcome.
The Tribunal ordered that Mr Panayides pay a fine of £50,000.
Mr Panayides admitted that he:
- Conducted litigation in the High Court under a conditional fee agreement entered into on 6 October 2010 which was unlawful and unenforceable in so far as that High Court litigation was concerned, and submitted invoices and received payments for services pursuant to such agreement;
- Produced to a potential litigation funder a document which contained advice from the firm to a client ("the Preliminary Evaluation"), without disclosing that the first draft of the Preliminary Evaluation had been drafted by one of the owners of the client; and
- Made payments from sums held on behalf of litigation funders other than in accordance with the funding agreements pursuant to which such sums were held.
Reasons/basis
The SRA has not identified breaches of the Solicitors' Code in respect of the respondent's substantive conduct of the litigation and agrees that the admissions and outcome satisfy the public interest having regard to the gravity of the matters alleged.
The SDT Judgment, when published, will be available at www.solicitorstribunal.org.uk.