(unnamed respondent)

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

On an application by Ashtar Abbas Dhami to remove practice conditions imposed by the Tribunal on 2 November 2017 (following findings of Accounts Rules and Principles breaches and lack of integrity, but with dishonesty not proved), the Tribunal granted the application in part. Given nearly nine years of incident-free supervised practice, the Tribunal found the full set of restrictions no longer necessary and removed most conditions, retaining only prohibitions on sole practice and on holding COLP/COFA roles. The Applicant was ordered to pay costs of £4,000.

Duties found breached:

• Proper basis for allegations
• No conflict between current clients
• Not misrepresent regulated status

Aggravating factors:

• Original misconduct was serious, deliberate, repeated and extended over time involving multiple clients
• Applicant held senior roles (director, COLP, COFA, sole signatory) with direct responsibility; culpability assessed as high

Mitigating factors:

• Nearly nine years' compliance with the conditions with no further concerns reported
• Substantial period practising as a criminal legal aid solicitor without incident under effective supervision
• Positive supervisor evidence demonstrating remorse, professionalism and reliability
• Continuation of all conditions would be unduly punitive and restrict ability to work