Solicitor who allowed more than £300K to go missing struck off
A BOLTON solicitor who allowed more than £300,000 to go missing from his company’s client account has been struck off and ordered to pay £75,000 in costs.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority brought a string of professional misconduct charges against sole practitioner Mark Pearson Ford, 53, who ran personal injury claims firm Ford Legal on St Helens Road, Bolton until it ceased operating on September 30 2015.
Ford drew £200,000 between January and June 2014 at a time when he had improperly retained £102,434 of client monies in his office account.
When provided with the draft accounts for 2014, the firm seemed to be in a negative asset position to the value of £303,986.
In a written submission to the SRA Ford said: “In very general terms, I admit that I lost control of my practice accounts…I wish to say, at the outset, that I am sorry that I lost control of my practice accounts.
“I understand the importance of the accounts rules and the devastating experiences of the last two years have given me a genuine insight into why they are of the utmost importance.
“I apologise to the tribunal, to the SRA, and to all the parties who have been inconvenienced or have suffered as a result of my mistakes, not least the employees, clients and insurers of Ford Legal.”
