A solicitor who tried to cover up his lateness for a court appearance has been struck off the roll by a tribunal.
Alexander Gallagher, admitted in December 2016, sent an attendance note to the firm he was working for giving false reasons for the case at Wandsworth County Court being adjourned.
In the note, Gallagher had suggested that he had requested an adjournment to the 2023 hearing because of a lack of instructions and because defence counsel had not received certain documents. In fact, Gallagher had arrived around 30 minutes late for the 2pm hearing, by which time defence counsel had left. The judge decided to adjourn the case.
Gallagher, a self-employed advocate instructed by LPC Law, was invited onto a call with the firm to talk through his attendance note. He explained that he had been late because he believed the hearing was listed for 3pm, and after he left he had panicked and was not sure what to do.
He told the firm: 'I made up the attendance note, saying that I had requested an adjournment and that the court granted it. I accept the deception is the worst part of it and I merely explain how this rather strange situation came about. It was pretty artless of me, I do not know why I did it.’
Gallagher said he had not acted with the intention of deceiving LPC but at the time he recalled being ‘very flustered’.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority, prosecuting, said it was plain from the attendance note that the statements were inaccurate. Gallagher had not spoken to defence counsel let alone discussed whether they had received documents, and it was untrue to assert he had requested an adjournment.
The tribunal ruling said: ‘Mr Gallagher’s motivation for his misconduct was to cover up his lateness to court, which caused him to miss the hearing. His conduct was planned – he deliberately sought to cover up his mistake, deciding to do so by producing an inaccurate attendance note.’
No mitigation was offered, although the tribunal noted this was a single brief episode in an otherwise unblemished career, and that Gallagher had made full and frank admissions.
He was struck off and ordered to pay £9,419 costs.
