Disciplinary proceedings

Our team is recognised as one of the UK's leading teams in the fields of professional discipline and professional regulation. 

We act for both professional and bodies, and regulated businesses and individuals handling substantial and complex cases involving serious allegations; often with an international element and where there is a high level of public and media interest. 

Many of our cases require close collaborative working with our clients to find pragmatic solutions to often difficult problems. As such we have considerable experience dealing with disciplinary and regulatory matters and proceedings for a number of regulated professionals and regulatory bodies, including solicitors, barristers, healthcare professionals, architects, accountants and charity trustees.

Our clients include the Law Society of England & Wales, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the Architects Regulation Board (ARB) and a number of national charities, for whom we have conducted many of their most complex and high profile reported cases.

Our unusual breadth of experience means that we are able to tackle complex multi-dimensional cases that are beyond the scope of many other firms.

Our experience includes:

• advising and conducting investigations and evidence gathering
• prosecuting and defending regulatory and enforcement investigations actions
• disciplinary proceedings, including the prosecution and defence of matters before professional tribunals and in appeals before the Administrative Court and Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court
• a wide range of litigious matters, including judicial review and administrative law
• interventions into existing High Court proceedings
• professional indemnity insurance and perimeter enforcement
• drafting codes
• providing advice on the drafting of legislation and delegated legislation
• advising boards and trustees on a wide range of governance, procedural matters and reputational risk management

Our team

• Our team is consistently highly ranked in the legal directories Chambers UK and The Legal 500.
• "Frequently assists regulators with investigations, evidence gathering and regulatory action. Also acts on behalf of individual practitioners and organisations in defending against disciplinary proceedings." Chambers UK (2021). A client tells Chambers: "They are able to offer high-quality advice consistently, but perhaps more crucially for us, they have an ability to think outside the box and come up with solutions in some of the unusual circumstances we face."
• "This team has been at the forefront of professional discipline for at least the last two decades." Legal 500 (2021). According to the directory, "clients benefit from the team's ability to work with the firm's highly rated criminal law group in matters where professionals are accused of criminal offences."
• Four members of our team are advocates with Higher Rights of Audience.

The team has been involved in a number of high-profile cases including:

• SRA v Shiner
• disciplinary proceedings and interventions arising from the collapse of the Axiom Legal Financing Fund (including SRA v Barnett and SRA v Wingate and Evans)
• Solicitors Regulation Authority v Mireskandari and Turbin
• Sheikh v Law Society

A number of the firm's lawyers have contributed to The Law of Legal Services by John Gould, published by Jordan.