Harjit Kaur Sangha

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

The Respondent, admitted in 1992, was convicted at Northampton Crown Court on 6 May 2004 of perverting the course of justice by providing police with a false alibi for her nephew (who was convicted of GBH), and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. She admitted the allegation of conduct unbefitting a solicitor. Though references attested to her high professional standards and charitable work, the Tribunal struck her off the Roll to protect the public and the reputation of the profession, and ordered her to pay costs of £1,111. The Tribunal made no express finding of dishonesty in its findings.

Duties found breached:

• No taking unfair advantage

Aggravating factors:

• Conviction following trial after not guilty plea
• Serious criminal offence undermining administration of justice
• False alibi brought a police GBH investigation to a halt
• Sentencing judge noted it was not an entirely spur-of-the-moment decision

Mitigating factors:

• Highly thought of solicitor practising in criminal field
• Positive professional and personal references; described as trustworthy, kind, caring
• Raised significant money for charitable causes
• Recognised her position early and invited the Law Society to put in place strike-off procedure
• Conducted herself at the hearing with dignity
• Reduced financial circumstances, reliance on pensioner parents
• Had already served her sentence