An ex-Locke Lord lawyer has been struck off the roll after the firm was ordered to pay a whopping fine last year.
In November 2017 the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal found the US firm guilty of failing to "properly supervise" Jonathan Denton, banking counsel in its London office, for dodgy dealings while at the firm. The SDT slapped Locke Lord with a fine of £500,000, the profession's biggest ever fine.
The SRA has now brought a case against Denton. The hearing took place before the SDT in April with the judgment being filed on 17 May. The SRA told the tribunal that Denton had breached numerous SRA principles as he had been involved in transactions "that bore the hallmarks of dubious financial arrangements or investment schemes". The tribunal heard that Denton had "produced false invoices" to mislead investors and failed to protect client money by making "improper withdrawals" from the firm's client account.
The SRA also told the tribunal that Denton was conflicted as he acted for a company, Ikaya, of which he was the sole director and shareholder, in relation to seven investment schemes. The SDT lambasted Denton, saying that he was "motivated by financial gain", since the interests of the investors and his company Ikaya were not aligned. Ikaya made money on commission and it was in the company's interests (and therefore Denton's interests) to maximise the amount of money coming into the investment scheme.
The tribunal found that Denton had not undertaken due diligence on behalf of his clients, and had encouraged them to invest in the "dubious" investment scheme in breach of several SRA principles. It also said that he had "offered false assurances as to the progress of the transactions and paid non-existent profit" to some investors. Denton's actions had "had caused significant harm to individual investors" who had "lost substantial amounts of money".The judgment also slammed Denton for carrying on with the scheme even when red flags were raised to the firm by the FBI and Metropolitan police.
Denton failed to attend the hearing and was not represented. The tribunal struck him off the roll and ordered that he pay costs of £70,000.
A spokeswoman for Locke Lord LLP said "The SRA and Locke Lord cooperatively resolved this matter last year when the SRA accepted our position that the Firm and its senior officers did not act dishonestly or with conscious impropriety, or turn a blind eye to Denton’s conduct". She added "We understand Denton continues not to cooperate with authorities, but this matter is now only between the SRA, government authorities and Denton. We are glad to have put this matter behind us, and again note the matters reviewed by the SRA concerned the actions of Denton and related only to clients for whom he worked".
Tip Off ROF
In November 2017 the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal found the US firm guilty of failing to "properly supervise" Jonathan Denton, banking counsel in its London office, for dodgy dealings while at the firm. The SDT slapped Locke Lord with a fine of £500,000, the profession's biggest ever fine.
The SRA has now brought a case against Denton. The hearing took place before the SDT in April with the judgment being filed on 17 May. The SRA told the tribunal that Denton had breached numerous SRA principles as he had been involved in transactions "that bore the hallmarks of dubious financial arrangements or investment schemes". The tribunal heard that Denton had "produced false invoices" to mislead investors and failed to protect client money by making "improper withdrawals" from the firm's client account.
The SRA also told the tribunal that Denton was conflicted as he acted for a company, Ikaya, of which he was the sole director and shareholder, in relation to seven investment schemes. The SDT lambasted Denton, saying that he was "motivated by financial gain", since the interests of the investors and his company Ikaya were not aligned. Ikaya made money on commission and it was in the company's interests (and therefore Denton's interests) to maximise the amount of money coming into the investment scheme.
The tribunal found that Denton had not undertaken due diligence on behalf of his clients, and had encouraged them to invest in the "dubious" investment scheme in breach of several SRA principles. It also said that he had "offered false assurances as to the progress of the transactions and paid non-existent profit" to some investors. Denton's actions had "had caused significant harm to individual investors" who had "lost substantial amounts of money".The judgment also slammed Denton for carrying on with the scheme even when red flags were raised to the firm by the FBI and Metropolitan police.
 |
Denton's next career move. How it might look |
Denton failed to attend the hearing and was not represented. The tribunal struck him off the roll and ordered that he pay costs of £70,000.
A spokeswoman for Locke Lord LLP said "The SRA and Locke Lord cooperatively resolved this matter last year when the SRA accepted our position that the Firm and its senior officers did not act dishonestly or with conscious impropriety, or turn a blind eye to Denton’s conduct". She added "We understand Denton continues not to cooperate with authorities, but this matter is now only between the SRA, government authorities and Denton. We are glad to have put this matter behind us, and again note the matters reviewed by the SRA concerned the actions of Denton and related only to clients for whom he worked".
Comments
379
358