A former Slaughter and May worker who stole £3,000 worth of stationery from the magic circle firm has been banned from working in the profession.

Howard Hemley, a non-solicitor, was found to have stolen ‘paper and other stationery’ from the firm while he was employed as an office services clerk.

Hemley, of Stamford Hill, North London, was sacked in December last year.

According to a Solicitors Regulation Authority notice published yesterday, Hemley will not be able to work for any solicitor or solicitors firm.

The SRA said Mr Hemley’s conduct meant it would be ‘undesirable for him to be involved in a legal practice’.

This order is subject to an internal right of appeal to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.

In a statement, the firm said: ‘This matter, which involved a non-fee-earning member of staff and had no impact on clients, has been dealt with internally.’

Earlier this year, the Gazette reported that a former supervisor at international firm Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co, now Gowling WLG, was barred from working in the profession for selling the firm’s printer toner on eBay without its consent.