A TOP Cumbrian lawyer who stole £710,000 from two highly vulnerable clients has been jailed for four years.

Marcus Nickson, 66, who spent most of his high-profile career with the now defunct KJ Commons & Co law firm, made a name for himself representing clients who were victims of medical negligence – often after bungled treatment in NHS hospitals in east and west Cumbria.

But a court has heard how the lawyer abused the trust of two clients by raiding their damages payouts, stealing hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The now struck-off lawyer, from Blencogo, near Wigton, was due to face a four-week crown court trial but at the last minute he entered guilty pleas to two thefts.

He stole money which was awarded as damages settlements to two clients, Preston Crown Court heard.

As he passed sentence, Judge James Newell said that it would be difficult to imagine a case where the offender was guilty of breaching a higher degree of trust, given that Nickson stole money which was awarded to pay for the long-term care of two brain-damaged clients.

One was a girl, left with a “catastrophic” brain injury after medics bungled her birth; the other was west Cumbrian man Adrian Bowe, now 44, who was left disabled and dependent on professional carers after doctors failed to spot he had suffered a stroke.

Nickson admitted that during 2010 he stole £104,000 from the girl’s £3.5m damages payout; and that between March 2006 and March 2013, he stole £606,000 from Mr Bowe’s £3m damages.

“The subject matter of this case can only be described as tragic,” prosecutor Arthur Gibson told the court, outlining how Nickson was already handsomely rewarded for the work he did for the two clients he stole from.

For his work on the child’s case, he charged £357,188 while for Mr Bowe’s case he submitted bills for an eye-watering £846,268 - almost a third of his damages.

Referring to the properly charged costs, assessed to be £164,000 for the girl and £330,000 for Mr Bowe, Mr Gibson said. “The prosecution case is that those sums weren’t enough for Mr Nickson. He took money for his costs from [his two clients’] damages, which the law did not and does not let him do, unless he either obtains the consent of the court or the consent of the client.

“In neither case was there any such consent.

“As the defendant now accepts by his pleas of guilty, he knew he was not entitled to any of that money; there was no legal right to take it. He took it to enrich himself and his firm. In short, he was dishonest and he stole it.”

Mr Gibson said that KJ Commons & Co - where Nickson was a partner - was reorganised following the murder of its founding partner Kevin Commons.

Nickson then left the firm and another lawyer, David Dawson, took charge of its clinical negligence work. Consequently, he examined the files for both the girl and Mr Bowe.

“As a result of what he found,” said Mr Gibson, “a decision was taken by the remaining directors to bring Mr Dawson’s concerns to the attention of the police and an investigation began.”

Mr Gibson then outlined the background of the two victims, whose families had to sue the NHS to pay for their long-term care. The girl was born in 1999 and as a result of her birth being mismanaged she was left with severely quadriplegic cerebral palsy, and needed 24-hour care.

Sadly, she died in 2012.

The litigation for the girl was initially funded through legal aid. This meant any lawyer acting for her would have to have the litigation costs approved by the court.

But in 2005 Nickson cancelled that legal aid.

Challenged about this, he wrongly told her parents they could not have legal aid once liability had been admitted. The effect of cancelling legal aid meant Nickson could bill them without the court vetting his charges.

A lawyer who later discovered what Nickson did said: “It is in my view inconceivable that any solicitor dealing with litigation, let alone one specialising in catastrophic injuries to children, would be unaware that no deduction of any kind must ever be made from damages to a child... without the leave of the court.”

Mr Bowe was also left with a permanent disability as a result of medical negligence, his doctors having failed to diagnose his stroke. Almost immediately after he won his case, £353,500 was taken from his interim damages of £575,000 - without the approval of the court. More bills followed.

Mr Gibson added: “Once again, Mr Nickson stole money from the damages which had been awarded to a client who had a significant disability.”

David Whittaker, for Nickson, said that he did not deceive his clients. He simply did not tell them why he did what he did. “He didn’t personally gain from the monies taken,” he said, adding that Nickson was a good solicitor - generous, attentive and diligent. Judge Newell said: “There was a breach of a high level of trust.”