The UK Law Society reports
A consultant who practised as a solicitor when he was not authorised to do so has been struck off following a judgment by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. However Christopher Scroggs, admitted in 1988, was cleared of dishonesty.
Scroggs had been working as a self-employed consultant for Bristol firm Neath Raisbeck Golding Law Ltd when, between 2016 and 2018, he operated as a sole practitioner without authorisation. Although he claimed to have believed he was working ‘under the firm’s banner’, the tribunal found Scroggs was acting ‘without the knowledge or authorisation of the firm’.
Scroggs, who did not open files with the firm or arrange engagement letters between the firm and the respective clients, later requested payment to himself. The client told the firm which informed the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
In a written judgment, the tribunal said: ‘Mr Scroggs stated that he had cooperated fully with the SRA. He said he was unsure why it had taken so long for the matter to get to a hearing and why there were thousands of pages before the tribunal for a case about £2,450 in which all the alleged facts were admitted.
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