Royal Opera House: Confrontation
A dual-qualified lawyer convicted of beating a man in a confrontation at the Royal Opera House has been handed a harsher sanction by a Bar disciplinary tribunal than the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
The tribunal ordered the Bar Standards Board (BSB) not to issue a practising certificate to Matthew Adam Feargrieve for a year from the date of the hearing. It was told that he had not undertaken pupillage and did not appear to have ever practiced as a barrister.
Mr Feargrieve was called in 1996 and became a solicitor in 2000, although now operates abroad as an investment management consultant. In 2021, the SRA issued him with a rebuke for the conviction.
He remains on the roll of solicitors but does not practise.
He made headlines over the incident and was convicted in December 2019 of common assault by beating, the lowest form of assault a person could be charged with.
According to newspaper reports at the time, the victim had moved into an empty seat next to Mr Feargrieve’s partner for a better view and passed back her coat, which had been on the seat.
According to The Times, Judge John Zani said Mr Feargrieve used “excessive force”, telling him: “It is clear in my view that the complainant did suffer pain and discomfort to his shoulder and his ribs. There is little of what I call genuine remorse about what happened. You have lost your good character.”
The judge issued a fined of £900 and required Mr Feargrieve to pay compensation of £500 to the victim. He was also required to pay £90 victim surcharge and £775 costs.
He issued an appeal but withdrew it on the basis that he could not afford to pursue it, according to the tribunal.
It added that Mr Feargrieve did not co-operate with the disciplinary process or put forward any mitigation.
“He neither offered an apology nor showed insight or remorse. Such conduct caused significant damage to the trust and confidence which the public is entitled to place in the profession.”
The SRA decision notice did not explain the rationale for the rebuke.
The tribunal also ordered him to pay the BSB’s costs of £1,560.
A BSB spokesman said: “Barristers have an obligation not to behave in a way which is likely to diminish the trust and confidence which the public places in them or in the profession, even when not practising.
“The tribunal’s decision shows that Mr Feargrieve’s actions leading to his conviction were a clear breach of that duty and the sanction reflects the seriousness of this breach.”
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