Access: Patel said he had forgotten his pass
A compliance officer at a City law firm who pretended he was at work when he was actually working from home – and continued to lie about it – has been banned from working in the profession.
Under section 43 of the Solicitors Act 1974, Dylan Patel, who worked at Stephenson Harwood, can only work for a law firm regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in future with the regulator’s permission.
A notice published yesterday said that Mr Patel, whose last known address was in Stanmore, North-West London, was required to work from the office on 29 November 2024.
However, he did not do so and “sought to deter a senior colleague from trying to locate him after telling her that he was on the first floor, by suggesting that he was too busy to meet with her”.
He continued to mislead colleagues in investigatory meetings on 3 and 5 December, insisting that he was present in the office on the date in question.
Mr Patel claimed he had been let into the building by a security guard as he had forgotten his pass and provided a description of this guard.
He also detailed timings of his arrival and departure from the office, where he had been sitting throughout the day and said he had connected to the firm’s wifi from his desk.
The firm fired Mr Patel for gross misconduct soon after and the SRA said it found his conduct to be dishonest.
This meant that it was “undesirable for him to be involved in a legal practice without the SRA’s prior approval”.
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