Julie Condliffe, a solicitor previously praised by the Law Society for her rags-to-riches story, has been struck off after a disciplinary tribunal found she misled three nurses into believing they were buying a buy-to-let property that she had never intended to transfer to them. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal ruled that Condliffe, who was also a social mobility ambassador for the Law Society and a well-known figure in the Zimbabwean community through which the nurses approached her, had exploited her professional status and caused significant harm to both the individuals involved and the reputation of the legal profession.

The case centred on a 2018 deal in which the three nurses paid a total of £31,000, believing they were purchasing a three-bedroom house in Peterlee, Co Durham, to renovate and resell. In reality, Condliffe's firm, PropertyPro World Limited, retained ownership, and she later claimed the arrangement had only ever been a lease with an option to buy, a defence the tribunal rejected after finding a supporting document contained a discrepancy that damaged her credibility. The dispute was settled in 2021 for £19,000 following county court proceedings, and the tribunal also upheld a separate charge relating to Condliffe's mishandling of client funds through an unsuitable banking platform. She was struck off and ordered to pay £48,000 in costs.