A barrister has been disbarred for recording court hearings and harassing a person with mental health issues.
Mariam El-Sobky, called to the bar in March 2001, was found by the Bar Tribunals & Adjudication Services to have made dishonest and/or misleading statements to court, and so acted without honesty and integrity and misled the court.
Three cases were heard. In one case, when sending messages to a group chat, El-Sobky harassed a former employee by making fun of confidential mental health issues. The tribunal also found that she failed to keep the affairs of her client confidential, sending appeal papers to the personal email address of an individual employed by her to carry out work on the case without first asking the individual to sign a confidentiality agreement.
In two cases the tribunal found that Ms El-Sobky behaved in a way which was likely to diminish the trust and confidence which the public places in her or in the profession, failed to act with integrity, and failed to observe her duty to the court in the administration of justice. Between March 2021 and December 2021 on at least three separate occasions, Ms El-Sobky made audio recordings of court hearings in family proceedings, without the consent of the parties or the judge, knowing that she was not lawfully entitled to do so and sent them to employees and requested they transcribe the recordings.
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A spokesperson for the Bar Standards Board said: ‘Ms El-Sobky failed to observe her duty to the court in the administration of justice. This behaviour falls far below the standards the public rightly expect of barristers. The decision to disbar reflects the seriousness of the misconduct in this case.’
