A former director of Axiom Ince has been struck off and ordered to pay £5,000 in costs for amending an invoice to give “the misleading impression” of a discount.
Toby Richard Matthews admitted to dishonestly amending a counsel’s fee note for a client while he was a director at Axiom Ince, ahead of a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT)hearing.
On 6th May 2022, Mr Matthews amended an invoice to give the misleading impression to a client and the firm that legal fees had been discounted when they had not.
The tribunal heard how around mid-May 2022 a client raised concerns about legal fees and a discrepancy was identified. Matthews was called to a meeting on 16 May 2022 and asked to provide an explanation. During that meeting, he accepted that he had altered a counsel’s fee note and had paid it from the office account of another client. Axiom Ince confirmed that the money had been taken from another client’s ledger.
Matthews was immediately suspended by Axiom Ince, and his dismissal prompted an internal disciplinary process.
The tribunal noted that Matthews, having lied to his employer about the discount on counsel’s fees, then attempted to conceal the true position by altering counsel’s fee note. Matthews admitted breaching Principles 2, 4 and 5 of the SRA Principles and Paragraph 1.4 of the SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors.
The tribunal found Matthews “solely and wholly responsible for his misconduct”, but did note, in mitigation, his “full and early admissions”, as well as his “previous unblemished record”.
Matthews was ordered to be struck off the Roll of Solicitors and pay the £5,000 costs of the tribunal.
