The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) has granted an application for summary dismissal brought by Claire Gill, a Partner in the specialist London media law firm, Carter-Ruck, against proceedings brought against her by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
The SRA had alleged that Ms Gill had committed professional misconduct by sending a letter of claim on behalf of her clients, OneCoin and Dr Ruja Ignatova, who ran a cryptocurrency business that subsequently collapsed. The letter was alleged to contain an improper threat of litigation.
In a summary of reasons given for dismissing the proceedings after a one and half day hearing, the SDT emphatically rejected the allegation that Ms Gill had acted improperly:
“The letter was sent in pursuit of a legitimate attempt to protect the client’s reputation and was neither abusive nor improperly motivated. It would be wholly inappropriate to hold a solicitor responsible for a client’s later-discovered fraud where the solicitor was unaware of it and was acting in good faith on instructions. The oral evidence of the respondent is not needed when the contemporaneous documents evidencing her advice and the actions taken are clear.”
The decision is an important reminder of well-established principles which make clear that solicitors do not owe a duty of due diligence to their client’s opponent as regards the merits of their case, and hindsight should not be used to punish a solicitor whose case turns out to be based on false instructions.
5RB’s Justin Rushbrooke KC, instructed by Carter-Ruck, appeared for Ms Gill, leading Richard Coleman KC and Sam Burns of Fountain Court Chambers
The press coverage can be found below: