An Ayrshire lawyer has been fined £10,000 after failing to raise and proceed with a woman's divorce action for four years.
The Scottish Solicitors' Discipline Tribunal found Quinton Muir guilty of professional misconduct over delay in acting on her instructions within a reasonable time and failing to communicate with her during part of the period.
Muir, 54, told the tribunal that he wanted to make a full and unreserved apology to the woman and was genuinely sorry for any distress caused.
He accepted that there was no excuse for the delay that took place and said the best explanation he could provide was that he was swamped by the volume of business at the time.
The tribunal said: "The respondent (Muir) appeared to have insight into his conduct. He indicated, and was not contradicted, that he had no other outstanding matters. He has been peer reviewed on several occasions and no issues raised.
"Following the matter before the tribunal his firm had employed additional staff and introduced file management systems to prevent any recurrence," it said in a ruling.
But it said that failure to make progress with the unnamed woman's case was "extensive" and included a period in excess of two years where no action of any kind was taken by Muir.
The tribunal said: "A solicitor is expected to carry out instructions adequately and competently within a reasonable time. The relevant time is from instruction to the termination of engagement."
Muir, of D&J Dunlop, Barns Street, Ayr, was consulted by the woman in April 2013 as she sought advice on divorcing her husband, whom she separated from in 2010. She withdrew her instructions to Muir in October 2017 and contacted fresh agents the same day.
The tribunal held that Muir failed in his obligation to proceed with the woman's instructions within a reasonable time by delaying and acting upon her wishes to raise and proceed with a divorce action from October 2013 to October 2017.
It also found that he had failed to communicate with her from January 2015 to February 2017.
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