A prominent Scottish KC, Andrew Smith, has been found to have acted in a “serious and reprehensible” manner during a legal dispute involving a dating app business in which he had a close personal stake.
The Faculty of Advocates’ complaints committee determined that Smith failed to meet an advocate’s “fundamental obligations,” leading to a verdict of professional misconduct. This finding arose from a complaint filed by Steven Elliott, who was embroiled in a civil dispute with two former partners over the control of two gay dating apps.
Smith expressed his astonishment at the committee’s ruling and announced plans to appeal. Elliott commented to the BBC that the legal complaints process often discourages ordinary people, but he felt his victory showed that “justice is attainable.”
Elliott alleged that Smith had a conflict of interest in the contentious legal battle concerning the “Bender” and “Brenda” dating apps, which Elliott had intended to launch in 2011 with partners Steven Worbey and Kevin Farrell. Following a breakdown in his relationships with them, Elliott pursued the business independently.
The fallout led to civil court actions, with Smith representing Worbey and Farrell. During these proceedings, Elliott declared bankruptcy, and a judge ultimately ruled that he was entitled to start the business on his own. Elliott reported that defending against actions from his former partners cost him hundreds of thousands of pounds before filing a complaint against Smith.
Elliott accused Smith of becoming too personally involved in the affairs of his clients, potentially breaching the advocates’ conduct guidelines. The committee upheld three key complaints against Smith:
- He should not have accepted the instruction to represent Worbey and Farrell from January 2015 to May 2018 due to his personal involvement with their business.
- In May 2018, he should have declined further representation of Worbey and Farrell because of a conflict of interest and lack of independence.
- He improperly contacted Elliott’s trustee in bankruptcy in May 2018.
Evidence revealed that Smith had used language typical of a solicitor in communications, suggesting he acted as an agent for his clients, contrary to advocate guidelines. Additionally, it was disclosed that Smith had introduced his brother, David Smith, to his clients; the latter’s company later secured trademarks for the dating apps. He also brought in business consultant David Grier, who had a controversial history with the takeover of Rangers FC.