Asiya Nasim Kaleem

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

The Respondent, a solicitor, COLP and head of civil litigation at the firm, signed a declaration on 27 January 2021 to the Government's Future Fund confirming that £1 million from a private investor was held in the firm's client account when it was not, triggering the release of £1 million of public funds. The Tribunal found breaches of Principle 2, Principle 5 (lack of integrity) and Paragraph 1.4 of the Code. It expressly rejected the allegation of dishonesty, accepting that she genuinely relied on her supervisor's (a non-solicitor) assurance that the investor had already invested in 2017, but held that accepting that explanation without scrutiny amounted to a serious lack of integrity. The alternative allegation of recklessness was found not proven. She was fined £15,001, made subject to a two-year restriction order (conditions), and ordered to pay £25,000 costs (reduced from £39,523.35).

Duties found breached:

• Integrity
• Not mislead third parties or opponents
• Uphold public trust in the profession

Aggravating factors:

• Failed to reply to Future Fund emails clarifying the position or raising the alarm to mitigate risk
• Conduct had a causative effect on the public purse
• Only partial insight, claiming no harm had been done because the FF proceeded

Mitigating factors:

• Single episode in a previously unblemished career
• No previous disciplinary findings
• Open and frank admissions made at an early stage and cooperation with the SRA
• Harm was entirely unintentional
• Medical evidence filed on her behalf (though not applicable at the material time)
• Excessive reliance placed on assurances of her non-solicitor supervisor