London legal chambers 'fell victim to £2.75m fraud'

A leading London barristers' chambers fell victim to an alleged £2.75 million fraud by one of its former staffers before trying to keep the the case under wraps, the High Court has heard.

Pump Court Chambers alleges Gillian Goodfield, a former credit control manager, lined her own pockets while in charge of the bank account used to pay fees due to barristers.

The firm requested to have the case dealt with privately. 

But the judge decided that the matter should be made public, saying that while publicity 'may be an inconvenience, perhaps even a severe distraction' there was no justification for a private High Court hearing.'

The chambers says the matter has been reported to police, while a freezing order on Goodfield's assets has been granted.

The missing sum of money was revealed in a High Court judgment. In his ruling, Judge Charles Morrison set out that Goodfield – also known as Gillian Brown – has signed a statement in which she 'candidly admitted to her wrongdoing - she had indeed taken the money and now bitterly regretted it'.

'Until June of this year, Mrs Goodfield had responsibility for the bank account into which fees due to barristers were paid, and for ensuring that those funds were then paid on to the relevant barrister', said the judge.

'Following her departure, Pump Court Chambers began to discover that during the past five years, Mrs Goodfield had stolen in the order of £2.75m from the bank account.'

She attended court and represented herself for the hearing on September 19, and did not attempt to challenge the freezing order while 'showing no little signs of distress', added the judge.

'Her demeanour was consistent with the approach taken in her written evidence which was that she could not quite come to terms with the scale of her wrongdoing which she could now so very clearly see.'

 Mr Justice Edwin Johnson, a different judge, agreed earlier this month to sit in private to deal with the initial application for a freezing order.

The chambers pushed for the matter not to be made public for at least the next four weeks, explaining that news of the missing money could 'put at risk the integrity of the Chambers as a going concern'.

Current members of the chambers - which consists of eight KCs - have been notified about the alleged fraud, but past members were still oblivious, the court heard.

Saaman Pourghadiri who is representing Pump Court, argued: 'Former members might make claims for sums unpaid to them, despite not having any continuing obligation to meet the expenses of the Chambers'. 

'A spiral of decline could thus be the result of members of the Chambers arriving at the view that they should not be last to leave.'

But Judge Morrison concluded that the matter should be out in the open no matter how 'inconvenient'.

'Former members of the chambers, and indeed solicitors' firms having dealings with Pump Court Chambers, might want to know of the problem at the earliest opportunity', he added.

'In my judgment it is not for the court to regulate such affairs without a proper case for doing so being put before it.'

In a statement on its website after the ruling, the chambers said: 'Pump Court Chambers has discovered it has been the victim of a fraud by a former member of staff. This fraud took place some time ago and did not impact upon the operational running of chambers.

'Upon discovery we took immediate and decisive recovery action. We are pursuing all legal avenues vigorously.

'Chambers takes theft and fraud extremely seriously and has put in place new systems to address any future risks.

'Please rest assured that it is business as usual for our barristers and dedicated and trustworthy clerks, who remain fully committed to providing the highest standard of service to our clients. We appreciate your continued support during this time.

'As the matter is now in the hands of the police, we are unable to comment further at this time.'