Shohaab Dar

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

Shohaab Dar, an associate solicitor, received £1,000 into his personal bank account from a client to cover a court issue fee, but the fee was never paid (the cheque not cashed) and he failed to account for or return the money until 30 May 2019, only after referral to the Tribunal. He also failed to issue a discrimination claim within the limitation period and failed to inform the clients, and repeatedly failed to respond to and made unfulfilled promises to the SRA regarding a lost file. The Tribunal found all allegations proved beyond reasonable doubt, including an express finding of dishonesty under the Ivey test in relation to the retention of client money. Finding no exceptional circumstances, the Tribunal struck him off the Roll and ordered costs of £8,433.50.

Duties found breached:

• Integrity
• Uphold public trust in the profession
• Act in the client's best interests
• Non-discriminatory acceptance and cab-rank
• No conflict between current clients
• No improper use of client money
• Cooperate openly with regulators

Aggravating factors:

• Dishonesty
• Deliberate and calculated conduct once aware court fee had not been paid
• Ignored managing partner's instruction to return money promptly
• Repeated failures to cooperate with the SRA over a significant period
• Client was in a vulnerable position
• Concealed wrongdoing from client and SRA
• Loss to client of £1,000 and loss to firm of £6,000

Mitigating factors:

• Acknowledged some failings
• Previously unblemished disciplinary record
• Money eventually returned to client