¹ C Binham ‘UK Legal Services Act leads to creation of new business models’ (Financial Times, 9 October 2014).

² Gray, J and Hamilton, J Implementing Financial Regulation: Theory and Practice (Chichester: Wiley and Sons, 2006).Google Scholar

³ Moran, M ‘The rise of the regulatory state in Britain’ (2001) 54 Parl Aff 19CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

⁴ Ayres, I and Braithwaite, J Responsive Regulation: Transcending the Deregulation Debate (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992)Google Scholar.

⁵ Foucault, M Discipline and Punish: the Birth of the Prison (trans Sheridan, A) (New York: Random House, 2nd edn, 1995)Google Scholar.

⁶ Exemplified by Jeremy Bentham's Panopticon, a prison in which inmates could be seen but did not know when they were being observed: Bentham, J Panopticon; or, The Inspection House (Dodo Press, 2008)Google Scholar.

⁷ Foucault, above n 5, p 170.

⁸ Foucault, M Security, Territory, Population: Lectures at the Collège de France 1977–1978 (Davidson, AI (ed) trans Burchell, G) (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007) p 88Google Scholar.

⁹ Knights, D ‘Governmentality and financial services: welfare crises and the financially self-disciplined subject’ in Morgan, G and Knights, D (eds) Regulation and Deregulation in European Financial Services (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 1997)Google Scholar; Waring, J ‘Adaptive regulation or governmentality: patient safety and the changing regulation of medicine’ (2007) 29(2) Sociology of Health and Illness 163CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.

¹⁰ Above n 5.

¹¹ LSA 2007, Sch 4, Pt I. and see http://www.legalombudsman.org.uk, accessed 7 March 2019.

¹² Freidson, E Professionalism: The Third Logic (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2001)Google Scholar.

¹³ Boon, A ‘Cocktails of logics – reform of legal services regulation in England and Wales’ in Boon, A (ed) International Perspectives on the Regulation of Lawyers and Legal Services (Oxford: Hart, 2017) p 209Google Scholar.

¹⁴ Schneyer, T ‘Professional discipline for law firms?’ (1991) 77 Cornell L Rev 1Google Scholar; Chambliss, E and Wilkins, DB ‘Promoting effective ethical infrastructure in large law firms: a call for research and reporting’ (2002) 30 Hofstra L Rev 691Google Scholar; Parker, C et al. ‘The ethical infrastructure of legal practice in larger law firms: values, policy and behaviour’ (2008) 31(1) UNSWLR 158Google Scholar.

¹⁵ Brown, AD and Lewis, MA ‘Identities, discipline and routines’ (2011) 32(7) OS 871Google Scholar.

¹⁶ Ibid.

¹⁷ Ibid, at 888.

¹⁸ Heinze, J and Lauman, E Chicago Lawyers: The Social Structure of the Bar (New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1982)Google Scholar.

¹⁹ Gray and Hamilton, above n 2, p 9.

²⁰ At time of writing the case transcripts referred to in this paper were available at http://www.solicitorstribunal.org.uk/judgment-search-results#search, accessed 22 February 2019.

²¹ This includes cases initiated before but concluded during 2015 but excludes those begun in but concluded after 2015. Note that all percentages cited in our report are valid percentages, that is, they are calculated by excluding missing data.

²² Abel, RL Lawyers in the Dock: Learning from Attorney Disciplinary Proceedings (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008) p 53CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

²³ See for example the use of case studies by Abel, ibid, and Abel, RL Lawyers on Trial: Understanding Ethical Misconduct (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010)CrossRefGoogle Scholar and a special issue of Legal Ethics (2012) 15(2).

²⁴ We were unable, for example, to reliably identify the ethnicity of respondents or to explore the reasoning behind SRA decisions not to refer cases to the SDT.

²⁵ But not rich analysis of grievance committee decision-making, advocated by Piquero, NL et al. ‘Exploring lawyer misconduct: an examination of the self-regulation process’ (2016) 37 Deviant Behav 573CrossRefGoogle Scholar at 582.

²⁶ These included the Law Society's ‘Find a Solicitor’ database, available at http://solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk, accessed 22 February 2019.

²⁷ Including The Law Society Trends in the Solicitors’ Profession Annual Statistics Report 2015 (London: The Law Society, 2016).

²⁸ LSA 2007, s 1(1) and see also s 1(3).

²⁹ LSA 2007, s 28(3).

³⁰ Leach, PA ‘The new look in disciplinary enforcement in England’ (1975) 61 ABAJ 212Google Scholar.

³¹ Solicitors Act 1974, s 30.

³² Ibid, s 32.

³³ Ibid, s 35.

³⁴ [1994] 2 All ER 486.

³⁵ Ibid, at 492e.

³⁶ Jacob, M ‘The strikethrough: an approach to regulatory writing and professional discipline’ (2017) 37(1) Legal Studies 137CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

³⁷ Tosh, A The Regulators Experience (speech to World Trade Organisation symposium on cross border supply of services, Geneva, April 2005)Google Scholar.

³⁸ LSA 2007, Sch 16, para 49(d), amending Solicitors Act 1974, s 47(2)(c).

³⁹ The SRA wished for commensurate powers requiring a change to the primary legislation, see SRA Consultation Paper: Proposal to Increase the SRA's Internal Fining Power 2013, available at http://www.sra.org.uk/sra/consultations/internal-fining-powers.page#download, accessed 22 February 2019.

⁴⁰ SRA Handbook 2011 (as amended): Introduction, para 3.

⁴¹ See eg SRA The Architecture of Change – Part 2 (2010) para 16, available at http://www.sra.org.uk/documents/sra/consultations/handbook/october-consultation-paper.doc, accessed 22 February 2019.

⁴² Above n 40, para 3(a).

⁴³ Lord Hunt of Wirral The Hunt Review of the Regulation of Legal Services (London: Law Society, 2009)Google Scholar and Smedley, N Review of the Regulation of Corporate Legal Work (London: Law Society, 2009)Google Scholar, although Smedley proposed it for corporate firms only.

⁴⁴ The Law Society The Architecture of Change Part 2 – Consultation on the New SRA Handbook Law Society Response (London: Law Society, January 2011) p 4.

⁴⁵ LSA 2007, s 91.

⁴⁶ SRA Handbook, above n 40, Principle 7.

⁴⁷ SRA Code of Conduct 2011, Chapter 10.

⁴⁸ Ibid, R.20.03 and R.20.04.

⁴⁹ SRA Code of Conduct 2011, O(10.3).

⁵⁰ Ibid, O(10.4).

⁵¹ Collier, J and Esteban, R ‘Corporate social responsibility and employee commitment’ (2007) 16(1) Business Ethics 19CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

⁵² For example, Axiom, promotes itself as being a global leading alternative legal services provider, at the forefront of a new era of legal services. It rewards employees with a form of equity, stock awards, for demonstrating ‘good client facing skills’ and ‘corporate citizenship’, doing away with partners and billing targets, see https://www.axiomlaw.com, accessed 22 February 2019. See also Binham, above n 1.

⁵³ Lemke, T ‘Foucault, governmentality, and critique’ (2010) 14(3) Rethinking Marxism 49CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

⁵⁴ SRA Annual Review 2015/16 (London and Birmingham: SRA, 2016), available at http://www.sra.org.uk/sra/how-we-work/reports/annual-review/annual-review-2015-16.page, accessed 22 February 2019.

⁵⁵ Larson, MS The Rise of Professionalism: A Sociological Analysis (Berkeley CA: University of California Press, 1977)Google Scholar and Freidson, above n 12.

⁵⁶ SRA A New Route to Qualification: The Solicitors Qualifying Examination (2017), available at https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/consultations/solicitors-qualifying-examination.page#download, accessed 22 February 2019.

⁵⁷ The SQE will ‘validate different routes to qualification, including “earn as you learn” pathways such as apprenticeships’, see news release ‘SRA announces new solicitors assessment to guarantee high standards’ 25 April 2017, available at https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/news/press/sqe-ensure-high-consistent-standards.page, accessed 22 February 2019.

⁵⁸ See for example Legal Week City LPC: The Elite Mould 25 October 2004, available at http://www.legalweek.com/sites/legalweek/2004/10/25/city-lpc-the-elite-mould/?slreturn=20180404061330 and Law Society Gazette Controversial City LPC consortium splits as firms opt for different providers 25 March 2004, available at https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/controversial-city-lpc-consortium-splits-as-firms-opt-for-different-providers/41684.article, accessed 22 February 2019.

⁵⁹ Levin, LC ‘Building a better lawyer discipline system: the Queensland experience’ (2006) 9 Legal Ethics 187CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

⁶⁰ SRA Annual Review 2015/16, above n 54, p 30.

⁶¹ Ibid, p 33.

⁶² The Unit carries out the SRA's investigatory function, see https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/decision-making/guidance/investigations-on-site.page, accessed 24 April 2019.

⁶³ Freedom of Information Request SRA/0188.

⁶⁴ Freedom of Information Request SRA/0174.

⁶⁵ Ibid.

⁶⁶ SRA SRA Regulatory Risk Framework (SRA, 2014) p 3, available at http://www.sra.org.uk/risk/risk-framework.page, accessed 22 February 2019.

⁶⁷ According to the SRA Annual Review 2015/16, above n 54, p 31 the SRA receives around 11,000 reports per annum from the profession, eg compliance officers or solicitors, the public, the police and the courts. We contacted the SRA and asked for a detailed breakdown of the reporting figures, which they provided via email on 12 April 2018.

⁶⁸ SRA email, ibid. The remaining reports to the SRA came from: anonymous sources (1.7%), government departments (1.4%), the police (0.9%), insurers (0.5%), banks (0.4%), other regulators (0.3%), courts (0.2%), the press (0.1%), trainees (0.1%) and students (0.1%).

⁶⁹ See for example Malcolm Ronald Hannaford (11085–2012).

⁷⁰ SRA Architecture of Change, above n 41, para 157.

⁷¹ Ibid, para 158.

⁷² The firm's reporting accountants reported in four cases: see for example William John Owen (11068/2012) and Jeremy Simon Barker & Michelle Jane Newton (11327–2015).

⁷³ SRA Annual Review 2015/16, above n 54, p 33.

⁷⁴ See http://www.sra.org.uk/risk/reports-assessment-method.page, accessed 7 March 2019.

⁷⁵ SRA Annual Review 2015/16, above n 54, p 17.

⁷⁶ Lonakan, M ‘Self-regulation in the Canadian securities industry: funnel in, funnel out, or funnel away?’ (2105) 43 IJLCJ 456Google Scholar.

⁷⁷ In the first the charges were not made out (Ademuyiwa Olusesan Ogunnowo (11317/2015) and in the second the tribunal complained that the prosecution had not matched the evidence to the charges against multiple respondents: Heer Manak Solicitors, Kulwant Singh Manak, Robin Heer, Balbir Singh Dahil, Pritpal Chahal, Rajbinder Kaur Dhillon (11165–2013).

⁷⁸ Ashworth, A ‘Ethics and criminal justice’ in Cranston, R (ed) Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995)Google Scholar.

⁷⁹ The SRA Annual Review 2015/16, above n 54, p 37 notes that the 129 SDT referrals in 2015/16 were a 34% increase in cases referred in the previous two years (2014/15 saw 96 referrals and 2013/14 saw 97) but that this increase was a result of a full case review rather than being reflective of a spike in concerns for this year.

⁸⁰ SRA Solicitor Account Rules, 13 and 17; see http://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/handbook/accountsrules/part4/content.page, accessed 22 February 2019.

⁸¹ See for example Selcuk Karatas (11258/2014), Richard Arnold Wilkes (11281–2014) and Gerard Christopher Mann and Katherine Jane Bradford (11251–2014).

⁸² Beeley, Nancy Kan-Hai (Agreement 2 November 2016) (deficit of nearly £50,000 on client account remedied after a month – respondent rebuked and fined £2,000).

⁸³ Dale Robert Walker (11254–2014), see further the FCA ‘Eight convicted for roles in unauthorised collective investment scheme’ 1 June 2015, available at http://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/eight-convicted-role-unauthorised-collective-investment-scheme, accessed 22 February 2019.

⁸⁴ See for example Mark Stanley Agombar (111092–2012), fined £15,000 and Daniel Gidon Zysblat (11222–2014), suspended for two years.

⁸⁵ Michael William Robert Wood & Alan Burdett (8669–2002).

⁸⁶ SRA Code of Conduct 2011, r 15, note (ix) and see SRA Account Rules, r 14.5.

⁸⁷ The ARP was abolished in October 2013. See SRA Indemnity Insurance Rules 2012 as amended by the SRA Indemnity Insurance Rules 2013, available at http://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/handbook/indemnityins/content.page and R Collins ‘Why the SRA replaced the Assigned Risks Pool’ LSG 21 July 2011, available at http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/analysis/why-the-sra-replaced-the-assigned-risks-pool/61455.article, accessed 22 February 2019.

⁸⁸ Christakis Pittordou (11316–2014), failure to disclose investigation by SRA in application for PII.

⁸⁹ See for example David Alan Eager (111300–2014), Ian Robert Gannicott (11308–2014), Justin Philip Huntly Nelson (11304–2014) and Rebecca Sabena Asghar, Mohammed Ekramulhoque Mazumder & Mohammed Mazibur Rahman (11333/2015).

⁹⁰ Matthew Albert Timmis (11193–2013), fined £10,000.

⁹¹ For example, Duncan John Dollimore (11303–2014) and Mark Christopher Ungoed Davies (11345–2015).

⁹² Eve Clare Carlile (11247–2014).

⁹³ Duncan Hugh Ranton (11263–2014).

⁹⁴ Claire Louise Tunstall (11289–2014).

⁹⁵ See for example Chika Emmanuel Ike-Michael (11233–2014), struck off, Nazakat Ali (11275/2014), struck off and Syed Tanweer Akhtar & Benny Thomas (11262–2014), Akhtar was reprimanded and Thomas was struck off.

⁹⁶ See for example William John Gregory Osmond (11355/2015) and Paul Geoffrey Dean Smith (11358/2015).

⁹⁷ The Law Society, above n 27, p 46.

⁹⁸ We identified 32 sole practices and 44 partnerships, leaving 29 firms unaccounted for. Sole practitioners were identifiable from SDT records and other partnership data. We also gleaned data from the firm's website, the Law Society's ‘Find a Firm’ database, above n 26, and the SRAs ‘Law Firm Search’, available at http://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/using-solicitor/law-firm-search.page, accessed 22 February 2019. These sources provide details of the situation in 2015, rather than the time at which the offences occurred.

⁹⁹ Based in the London office of Fieldfisher LLP. It was a partner at the London office who was brought before the tribunal, see Bartholomew Michael John Harte (11329–2015).

¹⁰⁰ Respondents use various terms, such as ‘director’ or ‘equity member’.

¹⁰¹ The Law Society, above n 27, p 29, Table 4.3.

¹⁰² Three partners, two assistant solicitors and their firm, Heer Manak Solicitors et al, above n 77.

¹⁰³ Joe Ezaz, Darren James Dale & Richard Spector (11151–2013) and Alexander Henry Bevan & Guy Robin Hollebon (11236/2014).

¹⁰⁴ The percentages quoted here are valid percentages based on a total population of 94 firms. Firm information was missing in 11 cases.

¹⁰⁵ Levin, LC ‘The ethical world of solo and small firm practitioners’ (2004) 41 Hous LR 309Google Scholar.

¹⁰⁶ Lord Ouseley found institutional racism highly probable, see Independent Review into Disproportionate Regulatory Outcomes for Black and Minority Ethnic Solicitors (London: SRA, 2008), available at http://www.sra.org.uk/documents/SRA/equality-diversity/ouseley-report.pdf, accessed 7 March 2019.

¹⁰⁷ John, G Independent Comparative Case Review: The Solicitors Regulation Authority (London: Gus John Consultancy Limited, 2014)Google Scholar, available at http://www.sra.org.uk/sra/equality-diversity/reports/independent-comparative-case-review.page, accessed 22 February 2019.

¹⁰⁸ Ibid, p 13, para 1.30.

¹⁰⁹ Ibid, p 14, para 1.33.

¹¹⁰ Ibid, p 11, para 1.26.

¹¹¹ Ibid, p 9, para 1.14. The Ouseley report, above n 106 and Pearn Kandola, Solicitors’ Regulation Authority Commissioned Research into Issues of Disproportionality 2010, available at http://www.sra.org.uk/sra/equality-diversity/reports/research-disproportionality.page, accessed 22 February 2019.

¹¹² John, above n 107, p 11, para 1.25.

¹¹³ Coleman, JW ‘Competition and motivation to white-collar crime’ in Shover, N and Wright, JP Crimes of Privilege: Readings in White Collar Crime (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001) p 341Google Scholar.

¹¹⁴ Abel, above n 22, p 41, and see T Sklar et al ‘Characteristics of lawyers who are subject to complaints and misconduct findings’ (20 January 2018), available at http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2988411, accessed 22 February 2019.

¹¹⁵ Arthurs, HW ‘Why Canadian law schools do not teach legal ethics’ in Economides, K (ed) Ethical Challenges to Legal Education and Conduct (Oxford: Hart, 1998)Google Scholar; Haller, L ‘Solicitors’ disciplinary hearings in Queensland 1930–2000: a statistical analysis’ (2001) 13 Bond LR 1Google Scholar; Bartlett, F ‘Professional discipline against female lawyers in Queensland: a gendered analysis’ (2008) 17 GLR 301Google Scholar and Piquero et al, above n 25.

¹¹⁶ See review of the literature in Abel, above n 22, ch 1, pp 54–56 and particularly Carlin, JE Lawyers on Their Own: A Study of Individual Practitioners in Chicago (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1962).Google Scholar Davies, M ‘The regulation of solicitors and the role of the solicitors disciplinary tribunal’ (1998) 14 PN 143Google Scholar, found that over 50% of SDT respondents were sole practitioners but Piquero et al, above n 25, at 575, suggest that the evidence from other jurisdictions is equivocal.

¹¹⁷ Abel, above n 22, p 52.

¹¹⁸ Ibid, pp 28–52.

¹¹⁹ See further Moore, J, Buckingham, D and Diesfield, K ‘Disciplinary tribunal cases involving New Zealand lawyers with mental or physical impairment’ (2015) 22(5) Psychiatry, Psychology and Law 649CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

¹²⁰ Indeed, LawCare, established as SolCare in 1997, focuses on helping with addiction, mental health and well-being issues; see http://www.lawcare.org.uk/about-us, accessed 22 February 2019.

¹²¹ Davies, M ‘The regulatory crisis in the solicitors profession’ (2003) 6(2) Legal Ethics 185CrossRefGoogle Scholar at 216.

¹²² See Hannaford, above n 69, which resulted in a £700,000 claim on the compensation fund.

¹²³ See page 3 of the SRA Regulatory Outcomes Reports for March (12 interventions), June (7 interventions), September (16 interventions) and December (12 interventions) 2013, available at http://www.sra.org.uk/sra/how-we-work/reports.page, accessed 22 February 2019.

¹²⁴ Two interventions are estimated to cost £1.8 million because of the size of the firms involved (SRA ‘SRA seeks solution to increased interventions’ costs’ 10 May 2013, available at https://www.richardnelsonllp.co.uk/sra-seeks-solution-to-increased-interventions-costs, accessed 22 February 2019). For the cost of compensation fund pay outs to claimants, see page 3 of the SRA Regulatory Outcomes Reports for March (£3.45 million), June (£5.69 million), September (£2.72 million) and December (£5.15 million) 2013, above n 123.

¹²⁵ SRA Annual Review 2015/16, above n 54, p 39.

¹²⁶ Ibid, p 41.

¹²⁷ See Sklar, et al, above n 114, who suggested that complaints data should be used as an active part of regulatory strategy.

¹²⁸ Conclusions regarding propensity for misconduct assume the adequacy of detection measures and consistency of prosecution decisions.

¹²⁹ Sir David Clementi, Review of the Regulatory Framework for legal Services in England and Wales: Final Report (2004) p 8, para 18.

¹³⁰ Solicitors Act 1974, s 46.

¹³¹ In 2015, 132 respondents were solicitors, three were paralegals, two trainees, two firms and one respondent was a legal executive. Therefore, non-solicitors made up approximately 6% of the total population.

¹³² See LSA 2007, Sch 16, Part 1, s 48, introducing s. 46A to the Solicitors Act 1974, and Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal Administration Limited (SDTA Ltd) Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal Annual Report 2011–2012, p 10, available at http://www.solicitorstribunal.org.uk/about-us/annual-reports, accessed 22 February 2019.

¹³³ LSA 2007, s 178.

¹³⁴ Ibid, s 180.

¹³⁵ Ibid, s 179.

¹³⁶ Hannaford, above n 69.

¹³⁷ SRA Code of Conduct 2011, available at http://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/handbook/code/content.page accessed 22 February 2019.

¹³⁸ Mohammed Imran (11246–2014).

¹³⁹ Harte, above n 99, and Gail Evans (11285–2014).

¹⁴⁰ Nancy Josephine Lee (11362–2015).

¹⁴¹ Hugh Alexander Jackson (11340–2015).

¹⁴² Above n 34 and see Richard John Tinkler v SRA and Others [2012] EWHC 3645 (Admin) [43].

¹⁴³ Ali, above n 95, Imran, above n 138, and Mann and Bradford, above n 81.

¹⁴⁴ Jackson, above n 141.

¹⁴⁵ Nigel Guy De Laval Harvie (11257–2014).

¹⁴⁶ The Law Society Guide to the Professional Conduct of Solicitors 1999 (London: The Law Society, 1999)Google Scholar.

¹⁴⁷ Hoodless and Blackwell v Financial Services Authority [2003] UKFSM FSM007, cited in Michael John Baker (11268–2014), at [21.8]. See also SRA Standards and Regulations, March 2019. These are the new SRA regulations, which come into force in November 2019 and will include a new Principle requiring honesty, available at http://www.sra.org.uk/sra/news/press/standards-regulations-start-date-2019.page, accessed 24 April 2019.

¹⁴⁸ See for example Mann and Bradford, above n 81.

¹⁴⁹ [2002] UKHL 12 at [27] per Lord Hutton.

¹⁵⁰ Kirschner v General Dental Council [2015] EWHC 1377 (Admin).

¹⁵¹ Malins v Solicitors Regulation Authority [2017] EWHC 835 (Admin).

¹⁵² Ibid, at [29].

¹⁵³ Williams v Solicitors Regulation Authority [2017] EWHC 2005 (Admin). See also B Hubble and H Evans ‘Is there a difference between dishonesty and lack of integrity?’ Solicitors Journal 22 May 2017 and the combined appeals, Wingate and Evans v SRA; SRA v Malins [2018] EWCA Civ 366.

¹⁵⁴ European Convention on Human Rights, Art 6.3.

¹⁵⁵ Re A Solicitor [1993] QB 69 and Campbell v Hamlet [2005] UKPC 19.

¹⁵⁶ Insurance Fraud Taskforce: Final Report (January 2016), available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/494105/PU1817_Insurance_Fraud_Taskforce.pdf, accessed 22 February 2019; Independent Review of Claims Management Regulation (March 2016) para. 9.7, available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/508160/PU1918_claims_management_regulation_review_final.pdf, accessed 22 February 2019.

¹⁵⁷ J Hyde ‘SRA wants lower standard of proof for tribunal prosecutions’ LSG 20 January 2016, available at https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/law/sra-wants-lower-standard-of-proof-for-tribunal-prosecutions/5053131.article, accessed 22 February 2019.

¹⁵⁸ See The Solicitors Regulation Authority v Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal [2016] EWHC 2862 (Admin), an appeal concerning a non-solicitor immigration adviser reinstated by the SDT after the SRA banned him from working for a regulated firm. Leggatt J and Sir Brian Leveson, the President of the Queen's Bench Division, declared that the SDT should apply the civil standard when hearing appeals against SRA decisions, and possibly across the board. See also J Hyde ‘Re-think SDT standard of proof – Leveson’ LSG 11 November 2016, available at https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/law/rethink-sdt-standard-of-proof--leveson/5058766.article, accessed 22 February 2019 and Legal Futures ‘High Court: Time to consider lowering burden of proof in the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal’ 11 November 2016, available at https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/high-court-time-consider-lowering-burden-proof-solicitors-disciplinary-tribunal, accessed 22 February 2019.

¹⁵⁹ See Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal Response to Bar Standards Board Consultation – Review of the Standard of Proof Applied in Professional Misconduct Proceedings (Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, July 2017), available at http://www.solicitorstribunal.org.uk/sites/default/files-sdt/SDT%20Response%20-%20BSB%20Consultation%2020.07.17.pdf, and https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/lower-standard-of-proof-for-errant-solicitors-sdt-confirms/5069911.article accessed 22 February 2019.

¹⁶⁰ Per Sir Thomas Bingham MR in Bolton, above n 34, pp 518a–519b.

¹⁶¹ Case, P ‘Doctoring confidence and soliciting trust: models of professional discipline in law and medicine’ (2013) 29 Journal of Professional Negligence 87Google Scholar.

¹⁶² SRA v Harvie, above n 145.

¹⁶³ Baker, above n 147, £88,000 deficit in client account, no dishonesty, suspended for one year with conditions on return to practice.

¹⁶⁴ Imran, n 138 above, two-year suspension.

¹⁶⁵ Matthew Albert Timmis (11193–2013).

¹⁶⁶ Theresa Ann O'Hare (11299–2014), where the respondent suffered from mental health issues.

¹⁶⁷ Carlile, above n 92.

¹⁶⁸ Hatamyar, PW and Simmons, KM ‘Are women more ethical lawyers? An empirical study’ (2004) 31 Florida State University Law Rev 785Google Scholar at 827.

¹⁶⁹ O'Hare, above n 166, at [67.2].

¹⁷⁰ Tunstall, above n 94, at [37].

¹⁷¹ Ibid, at [27.30].

¹⁷² Afshan Ejaz Nawaz (11294/2014), at [65.57].

¹⁷³ Barker & Newton, above n 72, at [51.1]: respondents suspended for two years and six months respectively.

¹⁷⁴ Ross Onotasa Monioro (11295–2014).

¹⁷⁵ SRA v Anthony Lawrence Clarke Dennison [2012] EWCA Civ 421.

¹⁷⁶ SRA v Heer Manak (1) and Dhillon (2) [2016] EWHC 1914 (Admin) and SRA v Wingate and Evans [2016] EWHC 3455 (Admin).

¹⁷⁷ Ogunniyi v Solicitors Regulation Authority [2016] EWHC 3516 (Admin); Gurpinar v Solicitors Regulation Authority [2016] EWHC 1549 (Admin); Barnett v Solicitors Regulation Authority [2016] EWHC 116 (Admin); and 11293/2014 Yunus Agboola Alatise (unreported).

¹⁷⁸ SRA v Heer Manak and Dhillon, above n 176.

¹⁷⁹ R (on the application of Solicitors Regulation Authority) v Imran [2015] EWHC 2572 (Admin).

¹⁸⁰ SRA v Wingate and Evans, above n 176. The respondents went on to appeal to the Court of Appeal to reinstate the SDT's acquittal: see combined appeals Wingate and Evans v SRA; SRA v Malins [2018] EWCA Civ 366. Wingate's appeal to reinstate the SDTs acquittal was dismissed but Evans’ appeal was allowed.

¹⁸¹ Monioro, above n 174, both sanctions were counted. Whereas Robert Andrew Schofield was involved in two cases (11292–2014 and 11322/2015), the sanction for each was striking off, so the sanction was recorded only once.

¹⁸² There are some discrepancies between some of the figures in this table and the sanctions data listed in the SDTs Annual Report 2015. For example, due to an omission the report lists 10 restrictions on practice, however, there were 12: SDT response to query 2 March 2017.

¹⁸³ For example, Mann and Bradford, above n 81; Adrian Patrick Shaun Dann (11213–2014); Karatas, above n 81; Owen, above n 72; Wilkes, above n 81; Jonathan Charles Lewis (11244–2014) and Peter Ellis Taylor (11274–2014) were all struck off.

¹⁸⁴ Andrew Donald Varley (10763–2011).

¹⁸⁵ See Pascale Edith Marie-Anne Wood-Atkins (11270/2014), at [169].

¹⁸⁶ Wood-Atkins, ibid, struck off. Two factors appear to have influenced this result. The first was that her actions contravened the SRA's warning card on Fraudulent Financial Arrangements, which stated that involvement in dubious financial schemes could lead to disciplinary action, see generally SRA Warning Notices, available at http://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/code-of-conduct/guidance/warning-notices.page, accessed 22 February 2019. The second was that she had deducted large sums in costs from client monies.

¹⁸⁷ Lewis, above n 183, and Mann and Bradford, above n 81.

¹⁸⁸ Basharat Ali Ditta (11060–2012).

¹⁸⁹ Lee, above n 140.

¹⁹⁰ Frances Louise Brough (11148–2013).

¹⁹¹ Above n 145.

¹⁹² Richard Gregory Barca (11313–2014).

¹⁹³ There were allegations of possibly racist comments, ibid, at [41].

¹⁹⁴ Harvie, above n 145, at [45].

¹⁹⁵ Richard Anthony Barnett & Anthony Augustine Swift (11249–2014), involving improper use of litigation funding and Kanwar Bhan & Monika Narad (11320–2014), where the main focus was a potential conveyancing fraud.

¹⁹⁶ Barnett and Bhan, ibid, were struck off, while Swift, ibid, was suspended and Narad, ibid, was fined.

¹⁹⁷ See, for example, Reginald Walter Hemmings (11283/2014), at [40].

¹⁹⁸ As sensitive personal data, the Tribunal's reports rarely contain this information. Indeed, ethnic origin could only be gleaned in one case (South Asian, Nazakat Ali, above n 95). Moreover, the Law Society's ‘Find a Solicitor’ database does not record such details

¹⁹⁹ Above n 107.

²⁰⁰ Ibid, p 106, at [656].

²⁰¹ Ibid.

²⁰² Ibid.

²⁰³ Ibid, p 10, at [120].

²⁰⁴ Ibid, p 15. The SRA has recently promised to publish a disciplinary report analysing its data on case prosecutions, including that on diversity: see M Cross 'SRA promises to publish disciplinary study' Law Society Gazette 21 February 2019, available at https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/sra-promises-to-publish-disciplinary-study/5069355.article#commentsJump, accessed 22 April 2019.

²⁰⁵ See the new SRA Standards and Regulations, above n 148.

²⁰⁶ The Law Society The Future of Legal Services (London: The Law Society, 2016) p 16, available at http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/news/documents/future-of-legal-services-pdf, accessed 22 February 2019.

²⁰⁷ The Legal Services Regulators Annex A: Progress on Deregulation and Market Liberalisation in Legal Services, A report for Ministers on deregulation from the legal services regulators of England and Wales (June 2015) p 3, available at http://www.legalservicesboard.org.uk/what_we_do/pdf/20150720_Report_On_Progress_On_Deregulation_And_Market_Liberalisation.pdf, accessed 22 February 2019.

²⁰⁸ Ibid, p 4.

²⁰⁹ Lonakan, above n 76.

²¹⁰ These may not be the only such cases since many of the alternative disposals may also have been initiated in this way.

²¹¹ Martin, LH, Gutman, H and Hutton, PH Technologies of the Self: A Seminar with Michel Foucault (Amhurst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1988)Google Scholar.

²¹² The Law Society, above n 27, Table 4.3.

²¹³ This issue was identified by the SRA as the first of seven risks to the legal services sector, SRA Annual Review 2015/16, above n 54.

²¹⁴ See John, above n 107.

²¹⁵ For example, the SRA recently reviewed 50 firms (ranging from high street to City), as a means of testing the sector's compliance with its new more rigorous money laundering rules, finding two-thirds of these firms lacking. In six of the firms the SRA found serious concerns meriting ongoing disciplinary processes: see https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/how-we-work/reports/preventing-money-laundering-financing-terrorism.page, accessed 22 February 2019.

²¹⁶ For example, over the last three years the SRA have closed down eight firms over money laundering concerns, and 14 firms closed of their own volition after the SRA raised concerns, see Barney Thompson ‘UK law firms disciplined over money laundering’ (Financial Times, 2 March 2018).

²¹⁷ Dixon, D Entry to the Solicitors’ Profession: 1980–2011 (London, Law Society, 2012) p 2Google Scholar.

²¹⁸ The Law Society, above n 27, pp 2 and 21.

²¹⁹ Lonakan, above n 76.

²²⁰ Because it ‘means that those who are dishonest on the balance of probabilities (the civil standard of proof) can continue to practise’, Insurance Fraud Taskforce, above n 156, p 44. See also N Rose ‘Bid for higher SRA fining powers and lower burden of proof “on government agenda”’ Legal Futures 10 August 2017, available at https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/bid-higher-sra-fining-powers-lower-burden-proof-government-agenda, accessed 22 February 2019.

²²¹ SRA v Martin Jeremy Day, Sapna Malik, Anna Jennifer Crowther, and Leigh Day (11502–2016) and see O Bowcott ‘Law firm Leigh Day cleared over Iraq murder compensation claims’ (The Guardian, 9 June 2017), available at https://www.theguardian.com/law/2017/jun/09/law-firm-leigh-day-cleared-over-iraq-compensation-claims, accessed 22 February 2019.

²²² M Hogg ‘Leigh Day highlights the SRA's inconsistent approach to enforcement’ (Solicitors Journal, 7 August 2017).

²²³ See SRA ‘Hot Topics: Enforcement’, available at https://www.sra.org.uk/home/hot-topics/Enforcement.page and SRA Enforcement Strategy (7 February 2019), available at https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/strategy/sub-strategies/sra-enforcement-strategy.page, accessed 16 April 2019.

²²⁴ Middleton, DJ ‘The legal and regulatory response to solicitors involved in serious fraud’ (2005) 45 Brit J Criminol 810CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

²²⁵ Levin, above n 59.

²²⁶ McLean, S ‘Evidence in legal profession disciplinary hearings: changing the lawyers paradigm’ (2009) 28 UQLJ 225Google Scholar.

²²⁷ See for example FC Zacharius ‘The purposes of lawyer discipline’ (2003–4) 45 Wm & Mary L Rev 675.

²²⁸ For example, by requiring legal services providers to give more information on quality and price and by providing platforms for consumer feedback, see , Competition and Authority, Market Legal Services Market Study: Final Report (London: CMA, 2016)Google Scholar, available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5887374d40f0b6593700001a/legal-services-market-study-final-report.pdf, accessed 22 February 2019.