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22.10.21
My professional regulator is investigating me. Help!
In recent months, this firm has noticed a steep increase in enquiries from professionals facing regulatory investigation. This has spanned various professions including, but not limited to, medical, dental, academic and legal. The main reason for this appears to be that many regulators were running a skeleton service of sorts during (and beyond) the lockdowns. …
Read more14.07.21
Legal regulators clamp down on keyboard warriors
Legal professionals, like virtually everyone else, have been spending much more time at home recently. On the whole the industry has adapted well, but it has led to very large numbers of lawyers (who are typically quite articulate, often opinionated types) sitting alone at home for long spells, often scrolling through the daily news in…
Read more20.01.21
Lawless lawyers: Is dishonesty really worse than a sex offence?
Recent decisions from the professional bodies governing both solicitors and barristers have seen a uncomfortable trend: some of those committing sex offences are allowed on carry on practising as lawyers, whilst almost anyone guilty of dishonesty continues to be struck off with little hope of return. Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) For any solicitor found to…
Read more27.11.20
Divisional Court overturns SDT findings against Ryan Beckwith and warns against the regulation of private lives
Ryan Beckwith emerged victorious from the Divisional Court today having had the limited findings against him made by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) last year reversed. In a landmark joint judgment of the President of the Queen’s Bench Division, Lady Justice Sharp DBE, and the Judge in Charge of the Administrative Court (Beckwith v Solicitors…
Read more26.09.20
SRA investigations: Section 44B Notices
Section 44B of the Solicitors Act 1974 gives a power to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to issue a Notice to a solicitor to prove information or documents. The power can be exercised only where it is: Necessary; For the purpose of an investigation; Into whether there has been professional misconduct or any failure to…
Read more19.02.20
Solicitor struck off after imposter uses his firm as a vehicle for fraud
In the matter of Solicitors Regulation Authority v Johnbosco Eberechuckwu Onyeme Johnbosco Onyeme was struck off the roll of solicitors by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (‘SDT’) for unwittingly allowing his firm to be used as a vehicle for fraud. Mr Onyeme it was a sole practitioner at ‘World Secure Solicitors Limited’ (‘the Firm’). Following an investigation…
Read more12.09.19
A Guide to Disciplinary and Regulatory Proceedings
This guide is intended to assist professional persons by providing an overview of how disciplinary proceedings usually work. It is designed to provide simple outline but all professional regulators operate under their own regulatory code and their powers are derived from statute unique to the particular profession. For example, the Solicitors Regulation Authority derives its…
Read more3.09.19
The importance of lawyers’ professionalism and sensitivity on social media
It is a peculiar quirk of the criminal defence industry, that there has always been a sizeable minority of lawyers who have felt the need to sing their every success from the rooftops. Of course, there is nothing inherently wrong with highlighting a law firm’s high-profile successes. It is good marketing and helps prospective clients…
Read more21.06.19
Solicitor struck off for “deliberately and excessively” overcharging clients
Solicitor Keith Smart has been struck off the roll by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (‘SDT’) after a finding that he had ‘deliberately and excessively’ overcharged his clients and failed to follow the regulator’s accounting procedures. The Solicitors Regulatory Authority (‘SRA’) had cause to investigate Mr Smart (who was working as a sole practitioner and COLP…
Read more18.06.19
Solicitor sanctioned for inadvertently aiding fraudulent football club bid
Richard Quinn of Riley Hayes Solicitors has been fined £5,000 by the Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal (‘SDT’) for making reckless misrepresentations in a letter utilised in a fraudulent bid to purchase Hartlepool United Football Club (‘HUFC’). The investigation into Mr Quinn’s conduct followed the conviction of ‘Mr M’, a business man and former director of Swindon…
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Articles are intended as an introduction to the topic and do not constitute legal advice.
