Paulina Marianna Jastrzebska

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

The Respondent, a solicitor admitted in 2017, was convicted on 8 November 2021 of possessing criminal property (credits totalling £63,770 and EUR 21,955) under s329(1) Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, arising from her husband's drug supply and distribution. She was sentenced to 4 months imprisonment suspended for 18 months, a curfew, victim surcharge and forfeiture. She admitted breaches of Principles 1, 2 and 5. The Tribunal, dealing with the matter on the papers by agreed outcome, found the misconduct extremely serious and ordered she be struck off the Roll. No order for costs was made based on her Statement of Means.

Duties found breached:

• Act in the client's best interests
• Non-discriminatory acceptance and cab-rank
• AML and crime-prevention compliance

Aggravating factors:

• Commission of a criminal offence
• Misconduct sustained over a significant period (27 May 2016 to 9 January 2019)
• Sentenced to a term of imprisonment (4 months suspended)
• Financial benefit gained directly and indirectly totalling £63,770 and EUR 21,955

Mitigating factors:

• Personal and medical history as described in Dr Saleem's report
• Judge accepted she was in a limited position to report the matter, alluding to potential pressure or coercion
• Early guilty plea
• Husband identified as playing the leading role