Yasser Mahmood

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

Mr Yasser Mahmood, an unregistered barrister, submitted a CV to Arden University for an external examiner application asserting he had worked as a barrister at Tooks Chambers (Oct 2010-Dec 2012) with conduct of cases in employment disputes, when he had never held a practising certificate. He claimed this was an honest mistake due to dyslexia, but the panel rejected this, noting the CV was clear and comprehensive with no other errors, and found the misrepresentation deliberate and dishonest. Charge proved under Core Duty 5 and rC8. Culpability moderate, harm low, but indicative sanction was disbarment absent exceptional circumstances relating to dishonesty, which the panel did not find. Mr Mahmood was disbarred and ordered to pay £2,670 costs.

Duties found breached:

• Non-discriminatory acceptance and cab-rank

Aggravating factors:

• Misconduct was calculated
• Intended to benefit (though benefit not significant)

Mitigating factors:

• No previous regulatory history
• Character references stating conduct was out of character
• Deterioration in mental health
• Change of employment as a result of the charge
• Caring responsibilities