An ex-BLP partner who was given a job by Shoosmiths after he was struck off has left after less than two years. And been hired by Penningtons Manches.

Vinay Veniek was a high-flying rainmaker in real estate when he joined BLP as a partner in 2000, bringing in deals through clients including Great Portland Estates and Morgan Stanley. However he also failed to pay stamp duty and Land Registry fees on eight transactions over a seven year period. As the penalties racked up, in some cases for up to four years, Veniek took money from a client account to pay them off. 

His deception was discovered by BLP in 2008 when one of the buildings was put up for sale and the file was pulled out. Veniek resigned and the subsequent SRA investigation found that he had misused a total of £558,234. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal ruled that Veneik’s conduct was “dishonest", but "at the lower end of the scale". It still struck him off, ruling that while clients were not at risk of losing money, "it was the profession as a whole that had had its reputation sullied”.

    He is though 

That was good enough for Shoosmiths, which took him on as a consultant in 2015 in the hope of benefiting from his juicy client contacts. Confirming the hire CEO Clarie Rowe said, "we were pleased to offer him the opportunity to operate within private practice again, and in time, potentially regain his solicitor status”. Unfortunately the potential remained unrealised and he has now left, with one source telling RollOnFriday that "it didn't work out".  

However the lure of Veniek's gold continues to dazzle certain firms and he has now been hired by Penningtons Manches. A Shoosmiths spokeswoman said, "We would like to thank Vinay for the support he has given the firm in the growth and development of our London presence and wish him well in his new role". Unlike most firms with a new hire, Penningtons Manches was strangely reticent and did not respond to a request for comment.
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Comments

Anonymous 07 April 17 00:42

Christ, what does it say about Shoosmiths that even a struck off miscreant like VV chooses to leave?!

Anonymous 07 April 17 10:08

It "didn't work out" sounds a bit like the thing you tell your children and wider family when you get divorced, hate your ex-spouse's guts but want to present a dignified face to the world...

Anonymous 07 April 17 10:30

You could not make it up. Lower end, 500k fraud, what is the high end?
Manches crashed and burned as well.

Anonymous 07 April 17 11:06

How on earth was this fellow not struck off for dishonesty? I sometimes wonder what criteria the SRA apply (cf the guy from Burges Salmon who was struck off a couple of years ago for much smaller amounts of money moved around on files and who didn't fail to pay anyone - Russell Rolton?).

Anonymous 10 April 17 11:48

PM are obviously desperate to get a hold on V's network. It has nothing to do with wanting him and I know there are many senior figures in the firm who would rather he wasn't there. He will have so many restrictions on what he can and cannot do at PM that he will effectively be a glorified address book.