Michael McKeown

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

The Respondent, a solicitor, attended Glasgow Sheriff Court in a professional capacity during the early 2020 pandemic to assist a vulnerable client in custody. Police searched him and found herbal cannabis (a Class B drug) in his possession, contrary to s.5(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. He accepted and paid a fiscal fine of £325. A Sunday Mail article publicised the matter. The Tribunal found him guilty of professional misconduct for being in possession of a controlled drug within a court building while acting professionally, breaching Rule B1.2, the duty of integrity, and bringing the profession into disrepute. Given the unusual circumstances, his good intentions, clean record, cooperation and no likelihood of repetition, the Tribunal censured him and awarded expenses against him. No express finding of dishonesty was made (only lack of integrity).

Duties found breached:

• Honesty
• Not misrepresent regulated status
• Uphold public trust in the profession

Mitigating factors:

• Incident occurred in unusual and compelling circumstances at the start of the pandemic
• No previous findings of professional misconduct or unsatisfactory professional conduct
• Attended court with good intentions to assist a vulnerable client in custody
• Not generally a user of cannabis; had forgotten it was in his possession
• Full cooperation with criminal and misconduct proceedings
• Demonstrated contrition; no likelihood of repetition
• Strong character references including from Thomas Ross QC
• Newspaper publicity caused distress to him and his family
• Long history of working with vulnerable people in society