A City solicitor who made a string of fabrications on his CV has agreed to leave the profession.

Michael McCooe, who now lives in Switzerland, drafted a CV in February 2011 which he handed to international firm McCarthy Tetrault and an employment agency. He secured employment at the firm four months later.

McCooe had stated he had been admitted to professional bodies in Australia, Ireland, France and Switzerland in the 1980s and 1990s, and also claimed he had qualifications from King's College, London, the University of Zurich and Trinity College, Dublin.

But it transpired McCooe had not been admitted before any professional bodies in Ireland, France or Switzerland and had only practised there.

He held no qualifications from Trinity College or the University of Zurich, and held a postgraduate diploma in EC Law from King's College, not an LLM in competition law as he had stated.

In a notice published on the Solicitors Regulation Authority website today, McCooe said he does not now remember how the inaccuracies arose on his CV, but he accepts he is responsible for them.

He admitted he was aware of, and failed to correct, false and inaccurate details that would be misleading, and on that basis he was dishonest.

‘His recollection is that his employer did not rely on the CV when offering him a job, and he did not realise that his employer would include incorrect details in its publications.’

Once McCooe realised that his employer had published these incorrect details he raised the issue and made sure that the details were removed. He also made sure that the employment agency corrected the details before he used their services again.

McCooe, who was admitted as a solicitor in December 1991, undertook to remove himself from the roll of solicitors within the next 28 days – with the effect of a striking-off order. He undertook not to apply for restoration to the roll in the future.

He also agreed to pay the SRA’s costs of £1,872.