Claire Matthews' fund for SDT remittal hearing
Donation protected
About me
My name is Claire Matthews. I qualified as a solicitor in 2017, but was struck off the Roll in March 2020 following allegations of dishonesty made against me by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) that were upheld by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT).
Significant concerns were expressed over the ruling, which resulted in several solicitors and barristers speaking out in support and I was very grateful to be able to instruct a team, on a pro bono basis, to act for me in an appeal of the SDT decision.
When I appealed, I set up this fund and I am so grateful to everyone who has donated to support me in the appeal - it not only enabled me to pay court fees I needed to pay, but also pay the costs of instructing an independent medical expert.
On the basis of the new medical evidence, the SRA agreed that the case should be remitted to the SDT for redetermination. That meant my appeal was allowed by consent, the SDT’s findings and orders against me were quashed and I was restored to the Roll of Solicitors.
The SRA then obtained its own expert medical evidence and, having then reviewed all of the evidence in the matter, including the new medical evidence, the SRA concluded that a re-hearing of the allegations against me would not be in the public interest, as long as I agreed to appropriate conditions being placed on my practising certificate.
Having agreed the conditions, the SRA applied to the SDT to withdraw the allegations that had been remitted and obtained the consent of the SDT to withdraw the allegations, with no order as to costs. This means the proceedings are now concluded.
Now that the proceedings are concluded and I have paid the disbursements and expenses I needed to pay to fight my case, there is a balance left that I have donated to LawCare. Thanks to the generous support I received, there is a balance of £7,000 (around ½ of the total amount raised) that has now been donated.
About LawCare
LawCare is a charity for all branches and members of the legal profession, including their families. LawCare’s mission to promote and support good mental health and wellbeing throughout the legal community. LawCare has been wonderfully supportive, not only during the initial phase of the SRA's investigation, but its staff also reached out to me since the original SDT decision was published. It is a charity that is close to my heart and it provides such amazing support to lawyers, which is of paramount importance.
Thank you
Thank you to everyone who has kindly donated and offered words of support. Without these, I could never have envisioned the result. I hope that the outcome in my case will help other junior solicitors who face similar, difficult situations, in knowing these decisions can sometimes be successfully challenged.
Thank you,
Claire
My name is Claire Matthews. I qualified as a solicitor in 2017, but was struck off the Roll in March 2020 following allegations of dishonesty made against me by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) that were upheld by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT).
Significant concerns were expressed over the ruling, which resulted in several solicitors and barristers speaking out in support and I was very grateful to be able to instruct a team, on a pro bono basis, to act for me in an appeal of the SDT decision.
When I appealed, I set up this fund and I am so grateful to everyone who has donated to support me in the appeal - it not only enabled me to pay court fees I needed to pay, but also pay the costs of instructing an independent medical expert.
On the basis of the new medical evidence, the SRA agreed that the case should be remitted to the SDT for redetermination. That meant my appeal was allowed by consent, the SDT’s findings and orders against me were quashed and I was restored to the Roll of Solicitors.
The SRA then obtained its own expert medical evidence and, having then reviewed all of the evidence in the matter, including the new medical evidence, the SRA concluded that a re-hearing of the allegations against me would not be in the public interest, as long as I agreed to appropriate conditions being placed on my practising certificate.
Having agreed the conditions, the SRA applied to the SDT to withdraw the allegations that had been remitted and obtained the consent of the SDT to withdraw the allegations, with no order as to costs. This means the proceedings are now concluded.
Now that the proceedings are concluded and I have paid the disbursements and expenses I needed to pay to fight my case, there is a balance left that I have donated to LawCare. Thanks to the generous support I received, there is a balance of £7,000 (around ½ of the total amount raised) that has now been donated.
About LawCare
LawCare is a charity for all branches and members of the legal profession, including their families. LawCare’s mission to promote and support good mental health and wellbeing throughout the legal community. LawCare has been wonderfully supportive, not only during the initial phase of the SRA's investigation, but its staff also reached out to me since the original SDT decision was published. It is a charity that is close to my heart and it provides such amazing support to lawyers, which is of paramount importance.
Thank you
Thank you to everyone who has kindly donated and offered words of support. Without these, I could never have envisioned the result. I hope that the outcome in my case will help other junior solicitors who face similar, difficult situations, in knowing these decisions can sometimes be successfully challenged.
Thank you,
Claire
Organizer
Claire Matthews
Organizer
England