Fugitive City lawyer faces jail

A top City lawyer, who used to advise the Princess Diana Memorial Trust, is to be sentenced this week after admitting stealing at least £6.5m from his clients.

Michael Fielding, a former partner at solicitors Lawrence Graham, was a fugitive from justice for more than four years after fleeing the country in June 2001, a story first revealed in The Independent on Sunday. He left a handwritten note to the firm's senior partner admitting he had taken money from clients' accounts.

Among those defrauded was London & Regional, the property developer run by the Livingstone brothers, which recently lost the battle to take over supermarket giant Somerfield. It sued Lawrence Graham for £30m in damages in a case that was settled earlier this year.

Fielding fled to Florida, returning in August when he was arrested. He pleaded guilty to 24 charges of theft and admitted to 89 other charges at Southwark Crown Court last month. It emerged that he had made 140 withdrawals from client accounts, taking at least £6.5m.

Fielding was released on £600,000 bail pending his sentencing, which takes place this Thursday.

Detective Inspector Denise Bains, from the Economic and Specialist Crime Command of the Metropolitan Police said: "This was a serious case of dishonesty and abuse of trust that has not only damaged the reputation felt by the firm, but has had a detrimental effect on the Law Society and the firm's professional indemnity policy and funds."

Fielding, 59, was a specialist in property law. Among his clients were Royal Bank of Scotland and US investors Strategic Hotel Capital.

He was also a director of Minerva, a stock market listed company, and of Dollar Land Holdings, the vehicle of famous former bankrupt Willi Stern.

Fielding joined Lawrence Graham in 1996 after the collapse of his previous firm, Grangewoods.