Eshrat Saddiq

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

Eshrat Saddiq, an unadmitted fee earner at Russell Jones & Walker, was found on the balance of probabilities to have misled her employers and the SRA about having passed the LPC. The Tribunal found she submitted a forged letter dated 28 March 2007 purporting to be from the University of Sheffield confirming she had passed (when she had in fact failed the commercial law paper with 38%), and sent false emails purportedly from the LPC Director Mr Heathcote, sent from a domain registered at her parents' address. She also applied to Minster Law holding herself out as LPC-qualified while the issue was under investigation. The Tribunal made a Section 43 Order prohibiting her employment by solicitors without SRA permission and ordered costs of £15,000, not to be enforced without leave. No express finding of dishonesty was recorded; the case was a regulatory Section 43 application.

Duties found breached:

• No improper communication with the court
• Uphold public trust in the profession
• Hold a current practising certificate
• Honour professional undertakings

Aggravating factors:

• Continued to maintain false position rather than admitting error
• Applied to Minster Law Solicitors holding herself out as having passed the LPC while the matter was under investigation
• Use of forged documentation and false email accounts registered at her parents' address
• Put at risk the reputation of the University, the profession and her law firm

Mitigating factors:

• Positive character reference and good standard of work noted by employer
• No previous disciplinary matters
• Limited financial means
• No police prosecution as deception/financial gain was not the objective

⚠ figures not found verbatim in the source were dropped: ["review_dishonesty_finding_cue_present"]