QUESTION OF ETHICSQ I have just discovered that my cashier has been removing client funds from separate designated client accounts - am I obliged to inform the Law Society about this matter?A Principle 19.04, note 2 states that a solicitor has a duty to report serious misconduct by members of staff to the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors (OSS).

OSS can refer the dishonest cashier to the Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal, who can make an order against the cashier under s.43 of the Solicitors Act 1974.

The removal of the funds will constitute a breach of the Solicitors' Accounts Rules 1998, and the firm will have a duty under r.7 to replace those missing funds.

No doubt you will wish to contact the Solicitors Indemnity Fund or your current insurers about the loss, depending on the date when the funds were removed.

Q I was suspended by the Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal.

What sort of work can I do?A You can be employed by a firm in private practice, provided that the firm obtains written permission from the OSS.

Permission would be needed even if the firm intends to employ you in an administrative capacity only, which does not involve you in any casework.

You can work for an in-house legal department, but you must not hold yourself out as a solicitor or undertake any of the activities reserved to solicitors, such as litigation, conveyancing or applications for probate, in your own name.

You can only be involved in such reserved work to the same extent as any other unqualified person.

If the head of the in-house legal department is a solicitor, he or she must obtain the written permission of the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors to employ you.l Question of ethics is compiled by the Law Society's professional ethics guidance team.

Send your questions intended for publication to Austin O'Malley, the Law Society, Ipsley Court, Berrington Close, Redditch B98 0TD; DX 19114 Redditch; tel: 020 7242 1222.