Blog: 24 February 2023 - Helen McGrath, Head of Public Affairs

Having spent many years as a litigator whilst in practice, I was more than well versed in the veiled, coded and sometimes borderline - dare I say - almost ‘antagonist’ exchanges which occasionally raised their head in hotly contested proceedings. ’Surprised’, ‘shocked’, ‘dismayed’ and ‘disappointed’ were, at least in those days, abundantly and liberally applied. Even seasoned litigators must have been taken aback however, from a judgement published last week by the SDT (and reported by the LSG), where one solicitor told another lawyer “you are one step closer to your grave”.  

The SDT held that “even in the context of hostile litigation, members of the public would expect solicitors to be robust but temperate in the language they used when communicating with the other side…….. That expectation was even higher when those communications were with the lay client.” Quite so. In this case the communication had more than tipped the balance. It was of course an actual threat. Unacceptable in any form of communication between any individuals let alone a solicitor acting in the course of their professional work. But there is a reminder here, that a calm head and reliance on professional training will ensure that your judgement remains intact when engaged with any frustrating or indeed exasperating proceedings.  

The solicitor in this case had aggravating factors to add to their misconduct. They had 'failed to co-operate with the SRA during its investigation, deliberately withheld information and misled the SRA in a number of material matters. Accordingly, the tribunal ordered a strike-off and ordered costs of nearly £42,000, which demonstrates rightly how seriously the matter was taken.  

Now in other news, LLG are currently out for a number of elections to be taken forward to its AGM on 29th March. Where you are eligible to vote, you should have received an email with appropriate link. Why might you not be able to vote in all elections? Well, only junior lawyers are able to vote for their Junior National Lead for example. However, all full members are eligible to vote for the next Deputy Vice President so please do take the time to do so. You can read all about the candidates standing for election by going to the news pages of the LLG Website.  

AGM papers and links to register for the meeting will be out on 7th March 2023 by email and all members are urged to attend on the 29th March at 12.00pm.  

Best wishes 

Helen McGrath 

Head of Public Affairs  

Helen@llg.org.uk