Imtiaz Ali

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

Imtiaz Ali, a Registered Foreign Lawyer and partner at Malik Law Chambers, was found to have provided misleading information on two professional indemnity insurance proposal forms (2011 and 2014) concerning gross fee income, prior SRA investigations, Legal Ombudsman awards and a Regulatory Settlement Agreement, and to have submitted a misleading statement in a 2011 judicial review claim form for client SMH. The Tribunal found the insurance-form misconduct dishonest under the Ivey test, and found breaches of Principles 1, 2, 6 and 7. The hearing proceeded in the Respondent's absence after the Tribunal rejected his adjournment application, finding he had grossly exaggerated his ill-health and misled his GP and medical experts (Dr Balu and Dr Garvey) while continuing to work. Given the dishonesty and absence of exceptional circumstances, the Tribunal ordered strike off from the Register of Foreign Lawyers and costs of £35,667.05. His subsequent appeal to the High Court was dismissed.

Duties found breached:

• Not mislead the court
• Honesty
• No taking unfair advantage
• Not mislead third parties or opponents
• Uphold public trust in the profession

Aggravating factors:

• Two instances of dishonest conduct
• Misconduct involved three incidents over an extended period of time and was deliberate/planned
• Respondent knew or ought to have known his actions were unacceptable and harmful to the reputation of the profession
• Extended and extreme lack of candour with, and deception of, his regulator by misleading medical experts about his ill-health to avoid responsibility

Mitigating factors:

• Traumatic events in his personal life in 2011
• Evidence of genuine (though exaggerated) ill-health/mental health condition
• No previous Tribunal disciplinary findings