West Kirby law firm shuts down after solicitor is struck off

Dec 17 2012 by Daniel Johnson, Liverpool Echo

A MERSEYSIDE law firm has closed down after one of its solicitors was struck off for improper behaviour.

Alan Tickell, of Rex Taylor and Meadows, in West Kirby, was struck off on November 19 after he was prosecuted at the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and ordered to pay £20,000 costs.

The tribunal will not publish the full judgement until after Christmas and the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA), which brought the case, would not confirm on which charges he was convicted.

But the allegations brought against Mr Tickell, of Meols, included:

Raising invoices in respect of costs and transferred money from clients’ accounts to the office account when there was no reason to do so;

Withdrawing funds from a general client account when funds withdrawn exceeded amounts held on behalf of client;

Failing to disburse residues of wills for a significant number of years;

Retaining client money when there was no reason to retain;

Failing to co-operate with the SRA in checking compliance.

Around 50 solicitors are struck off each year and a spokesman for the SRA said “there was no greater punishment than to be removed from the role.”