A private client solicitor has been struck off following admissions of dishonesty, improper client account withdrawals and systemic over-billing across probate matters spanning more than a decade.
Mark Grenville Davies, former principal of Bennett Richmond Solicitors, was referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal after deliberate and sustained dishonesty in his estate administration work where beneficiaries were directly affected.
Davies was admitted as a solicitor in October 1985 and became a partner at Bennett Richmond Solicitors in May 2000. Over time, the firm’s structure diminished, culminating in his transition to sole practitioner in November 2019 following the death of his co-partner. At this point, he assumed multiple compliance roles, including COLP, COFA and MLRO.
Over 10 years, Davies routinely raised invoices on estate matters without notifying executors, taking the funds from the client account without authorisation. From 2012, 47 invoices totalling more than £47,000 were raised.
Separately, from December 2015 to April 2023, he overcharged two estates by substantial amounts, with fees exceeding the value of work properly undertaken. In at least one case, invoices continued to be issued despite no meaningful work having been completed after 2016.
After health issues affected his ability to manage the firm’s operations, the issue became more acute. Between June 2022 and April 2023, Davies raised improper invoices on five client matters, enabling transfers of at least £13,740 from the client account to the office account, resulting in a shortage on the client account which was not remedied
In June 2023, Davies self-reported to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, leading to a regulatory intervention and the commencement of a forensic investigation later that month.
The tribunal accepted that the misconduct arose in the context of financial strain within the firm, including pressure from an overdraft facility. Davies admitted that improper billing was used as a mechanism to prevent the firm exceeding its overdraft limit.
In mitigation, he said a stroke in February 2022 and subsequent heart failure had contributed to the issues but the tribunal concluded these factors did not amount to exceptional circumstances sufficient to avoid strike off. The tribunal emphasised that dishonesty, particularly where repeated and directed at client funds, will almost invariably result in removal from the roll.
It further noted the vulnerability inherent in probate matters, where executors and beneficiaries rely heavily on the integrity of the solicitor handling estate finances.
The SDT concluded that striking off was the only proportionate sanction to maintain public trust in the profession. Davies was declared bankrupt in September 2025, and no costs order was made.
