Caught: Lengthy bans for lawyers
A solicitor and barrister have separately been sanctioned for drink-drive offences, although only the latter appeared before a disciplinary tribunal.
Jasbinder Digva, a non-practising solicitor, avoided a tribunal by entering into a regulatory settlement agreement with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
Under this, she was rebuked and fined £1,000.
The agreement said she “drove home from a social event with her young daughter in the car” but was involved in a collision with another car at a junction on the way.
Ms Digva was convicted at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court last year of driving with excess alcohol, and sentenced to a 24-month disqualification and fine of £240.
In the agreement, she admitted that “by her conduct and conviction for driving with excess alcohol, she behaved in a way that may diminish the trust the public places in her and the provision of legal services”.
Ms Digva did not report the conviction to the regulator, which was also a breach of the rules.
The SRA said the penalty imposed was appropriate because “the conduct was deliberate or reckless and affected or had the potential to affect a child”, and was “a proportionate outcome in the public interest”.
It had taken into account the admissions made by Ms Digva and “that she was suffering from difficult personal circumstances at the time of the conduct which led to the conviction”.
Barrister Peter Moss was convicted of drink driving at Chester Magistrates’ Court two years ago. He was banned from driving for 40 months and ordered to undertake 100 hours of community work.
A Bar disciplinary tribunal ordered that Mr Moss, who was called in 1980, could not renew his practising certificate until 1 February 2019 and fined him £2,500, suspended until the same date.