A solicitor has been fined £3,400 after a second conviction for drink driving in the space of six years. Adam Godwin Herbert, admitted in 1996, pleaded guilty last year at Salisbury Magistrates’ Court to driving in excess of the alcohol limit.

SRA fines solicitor after second drink-drive conviction

He was banned from driving for 20 months and fined £2,788.

A Solicitors Regulation Authority notice states that Herbert was pulled over by police after a member of the public reported his erratic driving. Herbert was ‘physically and verbally confrontational’ towards the police officers.

At the police station Herbert gave a sample where the reading was 108 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, which exceeded the legal limit of 35 microgrammes.

He admitted in police interview to have made an entirely wrong judgement to buy alcohol and drink it before driving home.

Herbert reported his conviction promptly to the SRA through his then employer.

The regulator said he had a previous conviction for being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle in 2016, when he was banned for three months and fined £1,500.

Herbert was found to have failed to uphold public trust and confidence in the solicitors’ profession. It was accepted by the SRA that at the time of the incident he was dealing with a number of personal issues, including relating to his health and that of close family members.

But the SRA also noted the high alcohol reading, his manner towards the investigating police officers and the warning after his previous conviction that this would be taken into account if there was any repeat.

The regulator added: ‘By acting in this way again, Mr Herbert has recklessly disregarded his regulatory obligations.’

The basic penalty of £4,000 was reduced to £3,400 to reflect his genuine remorse, the early guilty plea at court and his full cooperation with the SRA. Herbert, who worked for Salisbury firm Wilsons Solicitors LLP until July 2022, will also pay £675 costs.