Julie Condliffe, a 48-year-old solicitor celebrated for her rags-to-riches journey, has been disbarred after a tribunal found she deceived three nurses in a property investment scheme. Condliffe, whose firm specialized in property auctions, led the nurses to believe they were purchasing a residential property in northeast England as an investment. However, Condliffe already owned the property and it was never transferred to the nurses.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal concluded that Condliffe exploited her professional standing to gain trust and credibility. She had been approached by the nurses through the Zimbabwean community, where she was reportedly well-known and influential, with one nurse describing her as "famous amongst the Zimbabwean community." The tribunal stated that Condliffe's actions had a "significant impact on the wider community and, in particular, on the Zimbabwean women she claimed to be empowering," and caused "significant damage to the reputation of the legal profession."
In 2018, Condliffe brokered a deal for the three nurses to buy a three-bedroom terraced house in Peterlee, County Durham, intending to renovate and sell it for a profit. They paid a total of £31,000, including a £3,000 sourcing fee to Condliffe's firm, PropertyPro World Limited (PPW), and £3,720 for renovations. The nurses were unaware that PPW owned the property and that Condliffe did not intend to sell it to them, viewing their payment as securing only a lease with an option to purchase. Condliffe later sent messages, including one stating, "The property will be yours from tomorrow," which the tribunal found misleading.
The professional relationship deteriorated, and in 2021, the investors initiated county court proceedings, which resulted in a settlement of £19,000. One of the nurses, Pawel Jaskolski, a mental health nurse, suggested Condliffe may have targeted nurses because they are "compassionate people."
Condliffe denied knowingly misleading the investors, claiming she genuinely believed the transaction was a lease option purchase and that it was an honest misunderstanding. She presented a letter from 2018 mentioning a lease option purchase, but the Solicitors Regulation Authority, acting as prosecutor, noted that the PPW registered office on the document was not occupied until 2020. The tribunal deemed this discrepancy a severe blow to Condliffe's credibility.
The tribunal found two charges related to dishonesty proven, though she was cleared of a third charge concerning misleading investigators. Condliffe also admitted to mishandling client money after her business account with Metro Bank was closed, leading her to switch to an unsuitable financial platform. This platform, which at one point held over £2.5 million, had withdrawal limitations that jeopardized property deals, including one exceeding £1 million.
Condliffe, who once had a portrait displayed at the Law Society offices and was a social mobility ambassador from 2017 to 2020, has been struck off the roll of solicitors and ordered to pay £48,000 in costs. The Law Society has since stated that Condliffe is not a current ambassador and her portrait is no longer displayed at their building.
Condliffe's personal history includes growing up in destitution in Zimbabwe, the youngest of eight children. According to her, her father died when she was an infant, and her family faced eviction, inspiring her ambition to become a lawyer. She claims her family scraped together £500 to send her to Britain in 1998, where she worked various jobs while studying nursing and then law. She was first registered as a solicitor in 2012. Despite her past, she marketed herself as an eviction specialist. She claimed to have built a property portfolio worth over £1 million, starting with her first purchase in 2006.
Her law firm, Creative Legal Solutions, received accolades such as "Best Boutique Auction Law Firm 2022" and "Specialist Solicitor of the Year 2022" from SME News. Condliffe, who has thousands of social media followers, particularly within the Zimbabwean community, has previously admitted to making mistakes in online interviews promoting her book, "Unbreakable." In it, she writes about breaking barriers as a Black woman solicitor and author, but states, "I no longer practise law. I practise truth."