Imtiaz Ali

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

Imtiaz Ali, a Registered Foreign Lawyer and partner at Malik Law Chambers, was found to have provided dishonest and misleading information in two professional indemnity insurance proposal forms (2011 and 2014) regarding the firm's gross fee income, prior SRA investigations, a Regulatory Settlement Agreement, and Legal Ombudsman awards, in order to obtain cheaper insurance. He was also found to have submitted a misleading judicial review application stating his client was 'out of funds' and that the application was filed at the first opportunity. The Tribunal made express findings of dishonesty in relation to the insurance forms. The hearing proceeded in his absence after the Tribunal rejected his adjournment application, finding he had misled medical experts (Dr Balu, Dr Garvey, and his GP) by grossly exaggerating mental health symptoms while continuing to work, thereby delaying proceedings for two years. He was struck off the Register of Foreign Lawyers and ordered to pay costs of £35,667.05. His appeal to the High Court was dismissed.

Duties found breached:

• Not mislead the court
• Proper basis for allegations
• Integrity
• Not mislead third parties or opponents
• Uphold public trust in the profession
• Act in the client's best interests
• Cooperate openly with regulators
• Truthful, non-misleading advertising

Aggravating factors:

• Two instances of dishonest conduct
• Misconduct involved three incidents over an extended period of time
• Deliberate and planned conduct
• Respondent knew or ought to have known actions were unacceptable and harmful to the profession's reputation
• Court was misled
• Respondent misled medical experts by grossly exaggerating ill-health to delay proceedings for two years
• Forged documents (forged signature of OP, forged signature of Second Respondent)

Mitigating factors:

• Traumatic events in personal life in 2011
• Evidence of genuine (though exaggerated) mental ill-health
• No previous Tribunal disciplinary findings