Directors of law firm which rescued practice from collapse are suspended

Three directors of the national firm which saved Leeds-headquartered defendant law firm, Plexus, from collapse have been suspended by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

Pragnesh Modhwadia, Idnan Liaqat and Shyam Mistry, from Axiom Ince (formerly Axiom DWFM), have each been subject to intervention by the regulator.

It stops any of the individuals from practising but does not affect the regulatory status of the firm itself, meaning it can continue trading.

Modhwadia was the managing partner of Axiom DWFM and founded its predecessor firm Axiom Stone Solicitors. He is subject to intervention on the basis of suspected dishonesty and a failure to comply with Solicitors Act rules.

The three are all active directors of Axiom Ince Ltd, the company established in May 2023 after Axiom DWFM had bought the Ince Group through a pre-pack administration deal.

Last month, Axiom Ince also acquired Plexus Group, securing 540 jobs in the process.

Plexus was backed by private equity firm Origin Equity in 2019, but had struggled since then. The firm blamed the need for additional funding from its investors on “the ongoing impact of serious financial irregularities” discovered after the acquisition four years ago.

A spokesman for Axiom DWFM, the trading name of Axiom Ince, told The Law Society Gazette: “The SRA have suspended Pragnesh Modhwadia, Idnan Liaqat and Shyam Mistry. The reasons given are failure to comply with accounts rules and the solicitors’ code of conduct and the misappropriation by Pragnesh of very significant sums of money.

“The SRA have confirmed that the firm continues to operate, and the directors and partners have taken immediate steps to protect the business, our clients and our employees whose wellbeing remains our priority as we navigate the best and most viable way to proceed.”