A Dyfi Valley solicitor has been fined more than £20,000 for multiple rule breaches by a governing body.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) fined Bryn Roberts, the sole practitioner working at law firm, Evans Roberts, £20,150 for the breaches, which were described as demonstrating a ‘reckless disregard’ for regulatory obligations.

The SRA found that Mr Roberts, based in Machynlleth and Tywyn and who has practiced since 1980, failed to comply with an undertaking, failed to act in the best interests of clients, authorised an improper transfer from the client accounts and failed to keep a book of accounts.

The SRA said this week that it contacted him three times in 2021 and 2022 and eventually had to issue a statutory production notice due to his “slow response for information”.

Even then, Mr Roberts only sent a partial response and so the SRA commenced a forensic investigation into his firm.

This found a client account shortage of £30,850 that lasted for almost three years and was replaced four months after discovery, that no client account reconciliations had been completed, and potential client debit balances totalling £1,520.

Between September 2023 and May 2024, the SRA received a further six complaints about his handling of client matters, including one from the Legal Ombudsman.

The SRA began a second forensic investigation, during which Mr Roberts failed to provide “satisfactory explanations for his conduct on the six client matters”.

Further, the firm’s accountant’s report for the year to 31 March 2023 was qualified but the solicitor had not submitted it to the SRA within six months, as required.

He also did not comply with an undertaking or act in the best interests of clients – though the SRA notice was not clear, this appeared to relate to a failure to register charges and transfers, and to protect interests in the interim. He “misfiled” client files as well.

The SRA said he had shown “a reckless disregard to the risk of harm and his regulatory obligations” and only took remedial action when prompted.

The authority also found that the failure to register charges and transfers, failing to protect interests in the interim period and misfiling client files all had the potential to cause significant harm to clients and that Mr Roberts had direct control or responsibility for the conduct.

Any lesser sanction than a fine “would not provide a credible deterrent to Mr Robert, and others”, it said.

The nature of the misconduct by Bryn Roberts would typically lead to a referral to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal; the notice did not explain why the SRA considered a fine sufficient but the sanctions suggests it considered his actions did not merit a penalty of more than its own fining limit of £25,000.

In setting the fine at 81% of his annual gross income, the SRA said it took into account Mr Roberts’ lack of urgency to rectify errors when they came to light, and his lack of cooperation with the Legal Ombudsman and the SRA. There were no mitigating factors.

He was also ordered to pay costs of £1,350.