Carly Walters

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

Barrister Carly Sarah Walters was found to have acted dishonestly when, during a job interview on 24 February 2022 for an employed barrister position, she denied having any unspent convictions, despite knowing she had an unspent September 2020 conviction for driving with excess alcohol (40-month disqualification). All four charges were proved unanimously. The panel found Category A dishonesty (a deliberate, maintained lie told for gain). Indicative sanction for dishonesty is disbarment; the panel found no exceptional circumstances and ordered disbarment plus £250 costs. The Respondent did not attend.

Duties found breached:

• Honesty
• No conflict between current clients
• Not mislead third parties or opponents

Aggravating factors:

• Previous disciplinary finding: 2016 drink driving conviction found to amount to a lack of integrity (breach of CD5)
• Substantial professional experience: called in 2005, qualified ~17 years
• Deliberate lie maintained throughout employment, not a momentary lapse
• Lie told for gain (to obtain a position at a law firm)

Mitigating factors:

• Early admission of misconduct
• Demonstrated genuine and compelling remorse
• Cooperated with the investigation
• Significant difficult personal circumstances including chronic alcohol misuse being addressed
• Father's ill health affecting emotional well-being