A former employee at a top-25 firm has been barred from working in legal practices after he was found to have falsified documents.

Brendan Ferris, a litigation executive at the DAC Beachcroft office in Bristol, was found by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to have misled clients.

In a statement published on its website on Friday, the SRA said this included misleading clients about the status of court proceedings and in particular the service of two claim forms. He also misled a client in relation to whether an enquiry agent had been engaged.

According to the statement, Ferris, of Southville, Bristol, was dismissed by the firm in October 2014 after working there for more than five years.

The SRA has already issued a written rebuke for his conduct and has now stated it would be ‘undesirable’ for him to be involved in a legal practice.

He may not be employed in any solicitor’s practice or by any solicitor without SRA permission in future.

Ferris, who is not currently involved in a legal practice, was subject to an investigation by the SRA with an internal report from DAC Beachcroft also produced as evidence.