Jonathan Black-Branch
JurisdictionEngland & Wales
BodyBar Tribunals & Adjudication Service (BTAS)
Professionbarrister — Lincoln's Inn
DateMonday 2 February 2026
Hearing5 Person Disciplinary Tribunal
Appealopen to appeal
Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision
SanctionStrike Off
CostsGBP 2,670
Dishonesty foundYes
Duties found breached:
- Cooperate openly with regulators
- Good faith and courtesy to colleagues
- Honesty
- Uphold public trust in the profession
Aggravating factors:
- Dishonesty sustained over a period of time, not a fleeting lapse
- Conduct was calculated, sophisticated and involved significant planning
- Large sums of money (approx. CAD 600,000) obtained by fraud
- Bullying of staff who raised queries about expenses claimed
Mitigating factors:
- Respondent must have suffered great stress from the proceedings
Panel
His Honour Martyn Zeidman KC (Chair); Mr Matthew McGhee; Mr Ian Arundale; Mr Vince Cullen; Ms Jade Bucklow
Documents
Source: https://www.tbtas.org.uk/hearings/findings-and-sentences-of-past-hearings/