Firstly, please let me introduce myself. I am Alison Kellett and I am the President of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
The Tribunal’s role is to adjudicate upon alleged breaches of the rules and regulations applicable to solicitors and their firms. The rules and regulations are specifically designed to protect the public, including consumers of legal services, and to maintain the public’s confidence in the reputation of the solicitors’ profession for honesty, probity, trustworthiness, independence and integrity.
You may never have heard of us. If you would like to find out more I would encourage you to observe one of our hearings – remote public access is available for most hearings and details can be found on our website: Homepage | Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (solicitorstribunal.org.uk)
Along with the LSB, Bar Tribunals and Adjudication Service and eight legal regulators the Tribunal has recently reaffirmed its commitment to taking action to ensure more inclusive workplaces for lawyers and that the profession better reflects the society and consumers it serves. The statement can be found here: https://legalservicesboard.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Tackling-counter-inclusive-misconduct-statement-FINAL.pdf
At our recent training day our Members (who decide cases before the Tribunal) and our clerks (who give our Members legal advice but take no part in the decision making) considered this statement and what it means for the Tribunal.
Having reviewed some of the sexual misconduct cases that have come before the Tribunal in recent years, we looked at some fictious scenarios (based on cases across the disciplinary sector). For each scenario we considered what aspects of counter inclusive misconduct were present, how serious that misconduct was and what kind of sanction would be appropriate and why. At the end of the session, we asked ourselves whether it had altered the way in which Members might approach sanctioning a respondent for such conduct. The general consensus was that it had – Members felt they would be more mindful in future of the particularly sensitive and difficult issues arising in these sorts of cases before ultimately deciding sanction.
It is really important that the profession and public know that whilst every case is considered on its facts, the Tribunal will impose sanctions that reflect the seriousness of the misconduct found proved in cases involving sexual misconduct, racial or other discrimination or bullying. This will act as a deterrent and ensure that the Tribunal continues to protect those who have experienced unacceptable conduct and the wider public from harm which will further maintain public confidence in the reputation of the legal profession.
The Tribunal is also developing a new Responsibility Strategy. The first part of that process has been to commission an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Survey – the first of its kind at the Tribunal. This allowed Members and staff an opportunity to make their voices heard, describe their experiences and express their views in confidence. Whilst the Responsibility Strategy is not directly linked to the Tackling counter-inclusive misconduct statement it is an important piece of work and will help the Tribunal develop its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy.
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