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The costs aspects of SDT proceedings continue to give rise to concerns. Here, the SRA incurs costs of £300,000 pursuing a case in which it alleged dishonesty, while dropping some of the other allegations.

It then failed to prove dishonesty against any of the three respondents. Nevertheless, no reduction is made from its costs for this failure (or for its dropping of allegations); and one respondent, a junior solicitor (admitted 2012) who was acquitted entirely, is ordered to pay a proportion of its costs.