Character and suitability

[Teelaw111]

Hello 👋

I hope you are doing well.

I have applied for admission for the roll of Solictor and in completing the character and suitability assessment I did not disclose anything.

However I received an email from the SRA saying that something in my regulatory history has highlighted an issue.

I was not aware of anything but done some memory refreshing and some 12 years ago i disclosed to the SRA i had a criminal conviction and was going through there character and suitability assessment ( before you started the LPC) and they were asking me questions etc at the same time my university flagged me to the sra for Apparently forging an email or something.

The SRA then sent me email etc I engaged i denied the forged email at the time i was going through serious mental health issues and other issues such as bereavement’s suicidal thoughts etc and other issues. The SRA discounted their investigation .

I have dyslexia and ADHD

Now 12 years later i have genuinely forgotten about this issue untill now.

Can anyone advice .

Do SRA still hold records

Is my careear over, it was 12 years ago and nothing came from it. No judgement no order no fine . No further action

As of the email:
They said they will add me to a triage and reply in 14 days for update.

What are the next steps!

Thanks

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hello 👋

I hope you are doing well.

I have applied for admission for the roll of Solictor and in completing the character and suitability assessment I did not disclose anything.

However I received an email from the SRA saying that something in my regulatory history has highlighted an issue.

I was not aware of anything but done some memory refreshing and some 12 years ago i disclosed to the SRA i had a criminal conviction and was going through there character and suitability assessment ( before you started the LPC) and they were asking me questions etc at the same time my university flagged me to the sra for Apparently forging an email or something.

The SRA then sent me email etc I engaged i denied the forged email at the time i was going through serious mental health issues and other issues such as bereavement’s suicidal thoughts etc and other issues. The SRA discounted their investigation .

I have dyslexia and ADHD

Now 12 years later i have genuinely forgotten about this issue untill now.

Can anyone advice .

Do SRA still hold records

Is my careear over, it was 12 years ago and nothing came from it. No judgement no order no fine . No further action

As of the email:
They said they will add me to a triage and reply in 14 days for update.

What are the next steps!

Thanks

For the SRA to be aware of this, they must hold the records still from your initial registration 12 years ago.

I suspect you will need more expert advice on this as this is very specific query - there are some law firms who provide legal advice on this particular topic. All I do know is that any early assessment process is not necessarily an indication of what the final decision would be when you are admitted.

I think the biggest issue here will be the lack of disclosure this time around for the criminal conviction. The criminal conviction won't be seen as something that should be easily forgotten even if there were mitigating circumstances at the time and especially as it was disclosed the first time around.

The SRA are really going to be the only ones who can advise of next steps. You may want to line up any character references though to support your case as well as any evidence of rehabilitation too.

 

[Teelaw111]

Thank you!

I will contact a specialist as the criminal record in itself has been been spent and protected. I suspect that something must flagged up and now they will look further into it.

Thank you anyways for your quick response

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thank you!

I will contact a specialist as the criminal record in itself has been been spent and protected. I suspect that something must flagged up and now they will look further into it.

Thank you anyways for your quick response

If the conviction led to a suspended sentence or prison sentence, it would still need to be disclosed to the SRA even if it is spent and/or protected.

 

[Teelaw111]

Its was neither it was a public order offence and it resulted in a fine. I had disclosed it at the time and then during a character and suitably assessment where further questions were asked.

At the same time my university at the time referred me to the SRA for another incident, which i don’t remember that well.

I withdrew from my studies due to mental health issues. 12 years later and applying for admission they emailed say “ my character and suitability needs to be considered further as your regulatory history has highlighted an issue” .

They have not said what the issue is. I can only assume it was that.

I never received any formal closure or no further action or a response from SRA after I stated i was withdrawing from my studies.

So yeah it is a bit of a peculiar one .

I will take your advice and seek legal advice and instruct a solicitor.

Thanks for replying Jessica