Example 1- grant
In 2004, a solicitor, Mr A, was convicted of supplying a class A drug and sentenced to 6 months imprisonment. The conviction was based on one incident. Mr A had pleaded guilty explaining he sometimes used cocaine and had supplied a small amount he had bought for his personal use.
In 2006 Mr A was struck off by the SDT in proceedings that he did not contest. In 2011 we received an application from a sole practitioner, Mr B, seeking to employ Mr A as a personal injury claims handler. The application confirmed that Mr A would have no contact with clients and he would be directly supervised by Mr B (who had 15 years’ practice experience and specialises in personal injury cases).
Mr A provided evidence of his rehabilitation and a number of positive references. We granted Mr B approval to employ Mr B on conditions including that Mr B carry out regular file reviews and audits of Mr A’s work and requiring notification to us of any changes to the structure or working arrangements within the firm.
Example 2 – refusal
Mr R was struck off the roll of solicitors by the SDT for misuse of client money. The SDT found he had been dishonest.
One month later, firm S applied to us for permission to employ Mr R as a part-time self-employed paralegal. Firm S provided us with details of Mr R’s proposed responsibilities and proposed supervision arrangements. Firm S confirmed that Mr R would have no contact with clients and his work will be confined to legal research and organising files.
We refused firm S permission to employ Mr R. We did not find any exceptional circumstances which would permit us to grant the application or that Mr R could demonstrate his rehabilitation in the few months since he was struck off. We considered that public confidence in the delivery of legal services would be severely damaged if permission were granted in this case.