The Owen Kenny Partnership has been fined £2,000 by the SRA, as well as paying costs totalling £2,000 following an investigation into the firm and its mishandling of an estate.
The estate in question is that of a Ms B who left no will and so the estate was to be split between Ms B’s four siblings. The firm was instructed to act on behalf of the estate and act in the interests of all the beneficiaries.
However, one of Ms B’s children, Mr A, claimed she left her residence (valued at £550,000) to him and Mr A had instructed a solicitor at the firm to obtain a will from Ms B.
The firm then acted on behalf of Mr A in his role as a beneficiary, ignoring their obligation to act of behalf of all beneficiaries and the estate, thus creating a conflict of interest.
An investigation found the firm failed to act in the best interests of the estate, breaching Principle 4 of the SRA Principles 2011.
The firm were also found to be in breach of Principle 5 of the SRA Principles 2011 in that it failed to provide a proper standard of service to its client, as well as failing to achieve Outcome (3.5) of the SRA Code of Conduct 2011.
The firm were subsequently fined and ordered to pay the costs of the investigation. The SRA explained its decision why it felt £2,000 was appropriate in their findings as they claimed:
“When considering the appropriate sanctions in this matter, the SRA has taken into account the admissions made by the Firm via its representatives, by way of a letter dated 10 January 2022, the mitigation set out in the letter (including the audit trail of advice to Mr A and the fact that there was no wilful decision by the Firm or anyone at the Firm to continue to act despite a conflict having arisen) and the remediation steps taken by the Firm in the light of this matter generally.
The SRA considers that a fine is the appropriate outcome here because the admitted conduct was serious but not so serious that a sanction by the Tribunal is necessary or proportionate in order to maintain professional standards and to uphold public confidence in the solicitors’ profession. A fine therefore meets the requirements of rule 4.1 of the Regulatory and Disciplinary Procedure Rules.”
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