Sunita Ghai
Allegation / charges
Breaches, Code of Conduct for Solicitors, REL's & RFL's 2019, Dishonesty, Lack of Integrity, SRA Principles 2019
Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision
Sunita Ghai, an experienced solicitor at DLG Legal Services, acted for a claimant in a personal injury matter. Between 11 and 29 September 2023 she made three misleading statements that she did not have a neurology report when she had already received, reviewed and sent it to her client: in an email to the defendant's solicitor, in a case summary submitted to the Court, and in emails to instructing Counsel for a CCMC. She admitted all allegations, including dishonesty under Principle 4. The Tribunal, dealing with the matter on the papers via an agreed outcome, found the conduct dishonest by the standards of ordinary decent people, breaching Principles 1, 2, 4 and 5 and Paragraph 1.4 of the Code. With no exceptional circumstances advanced, the Tribunal ordered she be struck off the Roll and pay costs of £2,500.
Duties found breached:
- Good faith and courtesy to colleagues
- Honesty
- Integrity
- Serve justice and improve the law
- Uphold public trust in the profession
Aggravating factors:
- Misconduct was deliberate, calculated and repeated
- Misconduct continued over a period of time (18 days, three instances)
- Respondent ought to have known she was in material breach of obligations
- Experienced solicitor qualified for almost 20 years
- Misled the Court, opposing solicitor and own Counsel
Mitigating factors:
- Full admissions made
- Co-operated with the SRA throughout the investigation
Codes & rules applied
Duties engaged
- Act only on proper, lawful instructions
- Advise on alternatives, settlement and outcome
- Avoid wasting the court's time
- Cease acting on client perjury or disobedience
- Client-care and engagement terms
- Client confidentiality
- Competence
- Complaints procedure and handling
- Comply with and respect court orders
- Comply with rules of foreign jurisdictions
- Continuity and handover of representation
- Cooperate openly with regulators
- Costs and fee transparency to client
- Diligence and timeliness
- Disclose adverse law to the court
- Disclose material information to client
- Disclose referrals, commissions and benefits
- Fair dealing with unrepresented parties
- Fair, reasonable and lawful fees
- Full disclosure on ex parte applications
- Good faith and courtesy to colleagues
- Handle inadvertently received material
- Hold a current practising certificate
- Honour professional undertakings
- Keep client informed and respond promptly
- Maintain competence and CPD
- Manage conflict arising mid-matter
- No abuse of process or coercive powers
- No acting against a former client
- No baseless or threatened misconduct report
- No conflict between current clients
- No direct dealing with represented party
- No improper benefit, loan or bequest
- No improper communication with the court
- No improper fee-sharing or partnership
- No improper questioning of witnesses
- No improper solicitation or touting
- Non-discriminatory acceptance and cab-rank
- No obstruction or victimisation of reporters
- No own-interest conflict
- No payments to witnesses on evidence
- No personal opinion or familiarity with court
- No prejudicial publicity for pending cases
- No standing bail or surety for client
- No taking unfair advantage
- No tampering with or coaching witnesses
- Not mislead the court
- Not mislead third parties or opponents
- Not misrepresent regulated status
- Pay instructed practitioners and agents
- Professional indemnity insurance
- Proper basis for allegations
- Proper termination and return of instructions
- Prosecutorial duty of disclosure
- Prosecutorial fairness and impartiality
- Protect capacity and vulnerable clients
- Protect legal professional privilege
- Report serious misconduct of others
- Safeguard documents and limit liens
- Self-report to the regulator
- Truthful, non-misleading advertising