By Gabriel Princewill-
A former solicitor has been allowed back to work inside a regulated law firm, seven months after he was struck off by the tribunal.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority announced today it had granted permission to former personal injury specialist Geoffrey Hart to work at Coventry firm Kumari Hart Limited, despite being fired for deception last October. The permission for the disgraced solicitor to return to a law firm will not re-instate him to his former operation but offer him an opportunity to earn a living.
The decision to permit struck off solicitors to work in legal firms after a while of being punished is based on evidence that a solicitor disciplined by SDT no longer poses a risk to the public. The SRA said they were approached by Kumari Hart Ltd requesting for permission to employ Hart, and were satisfied the law firm will put sensible steps in place to safeguard the interest of the public.An SRA representative said the law allows reabilitation.
Hart – a solicitor of 21 experience- was struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal in October 2018 after drafting a letter to help a client under represent the extent of a damages settlement from her husband. The letter had made reference to her receiving £30,000 in damages when in fact she had secured £48,000. Hart’s return to the profession will be directly supervised by managing director Anu Hart, and he is prohibited from working in the office in her absence.
Hart’s job description cannot be varied without the notification and permission of the SRA .The SRA will also keep approval and the condition attached to it under review..
An SRA spokesperson said: “Applications for approval of employment are all dealt with on a case-by-case basis, and each application will turn on its facts. We will not approve employment if we believe there is a risk to the public. If the applicant has been involved in serious misconduct, they will also need to demonstrate exceptional circumstances for us to approve their position.
To the end of the last business year (October 2019), we had had 172 applications for approval of employment of struck-off solicitors in the previous three years. We only 13 (3 in 2016/17, and 5 each in 2017/18 and 2018/19)”
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