Legal watchdog takes action over closed Bolton firm

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is prosecuting a former director of the closed Bolton firm Coops Law.

The firm was shut down following an SRA intervention in June 2017, says a report in The Law Society Gazette, after being established following the closure of Bolton firm Asons, which was shut down in March 2017.

The SRA has confirmed its intention to prosecute Munir Majid, listed on Companies House as a former Coops director, in relation to the transfer of files between Asons and Coops.

The report says the allegations, which are as yet unproven, include that he caused or allowed the transfer of around 6,000 client files from Asons to Coops, in circumstances where clients had not provided any or adequate prior authority.

It is also alleged he allowed the firm’s staff to access confidential client details from Asons’ client database without client permission, placed undue pressure on at least one client to give authority ‘urgently’, and failed to ensure clients were given sufficient information to enable them to make an informed choice about instructing the firm.

In relation to funds belonging to Asons’ clients, it is alleged that Majid allowed money to be transferred into the firm’s client bank account without any or adequate prior authority and for disbursements to be transferred into the office bank account.

It is also alleged that Majid caused or allowed an email to be sent to around 100 Asons clients, which shared the email addresses of all those clients.

Finally, it is alleged that Majid failed to carry out adequate due diligence before and after accepting the role of lawyer manager and/or head of legal practice at Coops.

The allegations are subject to a hearing before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, which will be held later this year.