Roll on Friday
An Ashurst Perkins Coie solicitor has been struck off for lying about his stolen bike.
In April 2022, Kieran Ferguson, who was then an associate in Ashurst’s global loans practice, added a bicycle to his insurance policy with specialist cycling insurer Laka.
However, he made the update just after the bike had been stolen.
Ferguson, who joined Ashurst from Watson Farley & Williams in 2021, subsequently tried to cancel his claim.
When Zurich, which underwrites Laka, opened an investigation, he claimed that he had mistakenly believed he could use his policy to cover the loss of any bike up to the value of his coverage.
Zurich determined that Ferguson had attempted to defraud it and added his name to the Insurance Fraud Register, and also reported him to the Solicitors Regulation Authority in 2023.
Charged by the SRA with dishonesty and a lack of integrity, Ferguson’s defence posited that no loss was suffered and that he had been coping with a house purchase falling through and a friend’s murder.
This week the tribunal decided the banking lawyer had deliberately provided misleading information to get a payout, and ordered him to be struck him off. He was also ordered to pay £20,757 in costs.
APC continued to employ the lawyer throughout the process, but following the SDT’s decision he is no longer with the firm.
