Imtiaz Ali Ameen
Solicitor
035856

Decision - Fined

Outcome: Fine

Outcome date: 25 February 2025

Published date: 28 March 2025

Firm details

Firm or organisation at time of matters giving rise to outcome

Name: Handslaw LLP

Address(es): 3rd Floor, Dewsbury Business Centre, 13 Wellington Road, Dewsbury, WF13 1HF

Firm ID: 612526

Outcome details

This outcome was reached by SRA decision.

Decision details

Imtiaz Ali Ameen is a solicitor based in Dewsbury and a former consultant at Handslaw LLP, a regulated body.

Short summary of decision

We have fined Mr Ameen for accepting a loan of £25,000 from a client.

Facts of the misconduct

A report was made to the SRA in February 2023 that Mr Ameen accepted a loan from a client for whom he was at the time acting in a civil matter. He continued to act for the client after having received the loan, and failed to advise the client to take independent legal advice. Mr Ameen then failed to repay the loan in accordance with the terms of the oral agreement with the client.

 It was found that in so doing, Mr Ameen breached Paragraph 6.1 of the SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors 2019 and Principles 2 and 5 of the SRA Principles 2019.

Decision on sanction

Mr Ameen was directed to pay a financial penalty of £5,787 and ordered to pay costs of £1,350.

Reasons/basis

It was decided that a financial penalty was an appropriate and proportionate sanction. This was because his conduct was serious by reference to the following factors in the SRA Enforcement Strategy:

• Mr Ameen's conduct was serious, and any lesser sanction would not provide a credible deterrent to Mr Ameen and others. A credible deterrent plays a key role in maintaining professional standards and upholding public confidence.
• Mr Ameen was an experienced solicitor who had direct control and responsibility for his conduct.
• Mr Ameen's conduct lacked integrity and failed to uphold public trust and confidence in the profession.

In view of the above, Mr Ameen's conduct was placed in conduct band C which has a financial penalty bracket of between 16% and 49% of an individual gross income for the previous financial year. His conduct was placed towards the middle of this bracket at C4 (32% of gross annual income). The following mitigating factors were considered:

• Mr Ameen made an early admission in relation to the allegation.
• He had co-operated fully with the SRA's investigation.

The financial penalty was reduced by 10% in recognition of these factors.

SRA Principles breached

SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs 2019 Paragraph 6.1 You do not act if there is an own interest conflict or a significant risk of such a conflict.

SRA Principles 2019

Principle 2: You must act in a way that upholds public trust and confidence in the solicitors' profession and in legal services provided by authorised persons.

Principle 5: You must act with integrity.