A paralegal who was barred from the profession for lying to a client has been allowed to return six weeks later.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority issued Oliver Winters, formerly with London firm Memery Crystal, with a section 43 notice in mid-March. The order, published in a notice in April, prevented him from working for any regulated firm without SRA permission.

Winters, a non-solicitor, was found to have lied to his client about the status of two commercial transactions and fabricated two leases. He was found in breach of four regulatory principles and to have acted dishonestly.

He was dismissed by Memery Crystal in May 2017 and had been working for Hertfordshire firm Winters & Co at the time of the SRA decision.

In a further notice published this week, the SRA confirmed it had decided at the end of April to allowed him to work as a legal clerk at Winters & Co. The SRA said: ‘We are satisfied that the above employment will not put public confidence in the administration of justice and the provision of legal services or the interests of clients at risk.’

His work will be directly supervised and reviewed by the firm’s joint founders Richard Winters and (when he is absent) Siva Winters. If both Richard and Siva Winters are absent, Oliver will not attend the office.

The clerk’s work will be limited and he will not be responsible for supervising any staff regardless of their role or job title. The SRA also confirmed that Oliver Winters will not be responsible for handling office or client money or be a signatory to the firm’s client account.