A senior Manchester solicitor has been struck off after “knowingly” and “recklessly” misleading an unrepresented opposing party and attempting to involve a junior colleague.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal heard that in September 2023, Kirsten Tomlinson, then a senior associate solicitor in the family law department of Irwin Mitchell LLP, falsely led her client’s estranged partner to believe she had submitted a notice of intention to proceed with a financial application. Tomlinson told the opponent via email that the application would be withdrawn if they promptly signed and completed their statement of information.
Tomlinson then sent a further email to her colleague, chartered legal executive Charlotte Watson, asking her to go along with the deception. The email read: “Tell him client says we will withdraw our application to court as soon as we receive the signed docs from him (he doesn’t know we haven’t issued …. we just led him to believe we did)”.
Though Tomlinson was the fee earner, Watson carried out the majority of the day to day work on the case. The senior solicitor’s conduct came to light when Watson raised concerns with a partner.
Tomlinson’s client and their former partner had been trying to resolve their financial arrangements by way of a consent order. There had been delays but, eventually, an agreement was reached. There were then further delays in obtaining information for the completion the statement of information and also obtaining the opponent’s signature on the consent order.
The tribunal heard that Tomlinson claimed to be acting both on her client’s instructions and out of frustration with the prolonged proceedings. Irwen Mitchell had been instructed by the client in March 2022, some 18 months earlier.
However, they found that neither explanation excused her conduct, stating “solicitors must act honestly and advise clients appropriately; client instructions do not justify dishonesty.”
Tomlinson, who was admitted to the roll of solicitors in 2010, admitted all allegations, and also that her conduct was dishonest.
The tribunal concluded that given the deliberate and repeated nature of Tomlinson’s misconduct and there being no exceptional circumstances, striking off was the only appropriate sanction. Lesser penalties would not reflect the seriousness of the breach or protect the reputation of the profession, the tribunal added.
Tomlinson was employed by Irwin Mitchell between 2 January 2020 and 29 September 2023, before becoming a senior associate solicitor in the family law department at Brabners LLP until April 2025.
The parties agreed that Tomlinson should pay £1,000 in costs.
