Philip Joseph Shiner & John Dickinson

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

John Dickinson, a solicitor employed by Public Interest Lawyers Limited working on the Al-Sweady Inquiry, admitted that between March 2013 and March 2014 he failed to keep the Al-Sweady clients properly informed as to the progress of the Inquiry, particularly the declining prospects of allegations that cold-blooded executions had occurred at Camp Abu Naji, breaching Principles 4, 5 and 6 and failing to achieve Outcome 1.12. The matter was resolved on the papers by an Agreed Outcome. No dishonesty or lack of integrity was alleged. The Tribunal reprimanded him and ordered him to pay £2,000 costs.

Duties found breached:

• Uphold public trust in the profession
• Keep client informed and respond promptly
• Non-discriminatory acceptance and cab-rank
• No conflict between current clients

Mitigating factors:

• Very low likelihood of future misconduct; he is retired and does not intend to return to practice
• Genuine insight demonstrated through admissions
• All material aspects of the single allegation admitted
• No other disciplinary matters recorded against him
• No allegation of lack of integrity or dishonesty
• Ultimate responsibility and control of the matter rested with the First Respondent