Ushma Mistry

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

Ushma Mistry, an assistant solicitor in a busy criminal practice, used Tippex to remove the final sentence of a consultant psychiatrist's report before it was placed in the court bundle and relied upon by Counsel at a sentencing hearing, without the author's knowledge or consent. She admitted the allegation. The Tribunal found the conduct substantiated and serious, amounting to an attempt to mislead the Court, and would normally have ordered striking off. However, given exceptional mitigation (stress, remorse, self-disclosure, strong references), it gave her the benefit of the doubt and imposed an indefinite suspension plus £800 costs. No express finding of dishonesty was made.

Duties found breached:

• Not mislead the court

Aggravating factors:

• Act of commission involving tippexing, copying and placing the altered document in the court bundle, not a mere oversight
• Conduct concerned the relationship of the profession with the Court and amounted to an attempt to mislead the Court

Mitigating factors:

• Full admission of the allegation and facts
• It was the Respondent who disclosed her conduct to Counsel, leading to the charges
• Immediate and genuine remorse and acceptance of responsibility when confronted
• Working under significant stress and pressure with a heavy caseload and minimal supervision; severely clinically depressed per counsellor's report
• Strong character references attesting to her honesty, integrity and professionalism
• Conduct was out of character and not planned (done on the spur of the moment)
• The altered report had no bearing on the Court's sentencing decision (sentence unchanged on reconsideration)