Lawyer banned from partnership and fined
A SOLICITOR has been banned from holding a partnership or being a sole practitioner by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for mismanagement when he was in charge of his own firm.
Rajinder Singh Digwa, who was a partner in Digwa Cousins, a Leeds law firm which shut down in 2014, went in front of a tribunal on 12 October 2016 following an investigation by the SRA.
The tribunal heard that difficulties for Mr Digwa had started after a drop in conveyancing work at the time of the financial crisis was coupled with personal distress after the death of a close relative, affecting his work.
Mr Digwa was fined £3,000, as well as costs of £6,000. Conditions were also imposed which means that Mr Digwa cannot act as a sole practitioner, cannot be a partner in a firm, or hold client money except with the approval of the Solicitors Regulation.
The tribunal heard that from 1 November 2008 to 28 January 2013 he acted as sole practitioner at Leeds-based Digwa Cousins after his business partner left.
It was alleged at the tribunal that he had misled the SRA about his firm being shut down in January 2013 when it appeared to be operating up until June 2014, withdrew client money when he was unauthorised to do so and allowed the firm to operate when it was overdrawn.
In addition to It was alleged that he acted as a solicitor when he did not have a practicing certificate (as of February 2014).
According to tribunal documents, Digwa prided himself on being one of the first Asian solicitors in Leeds and had been involved in law firms either as a practitioner or partner since 1993.
He said losing control of the firm had left him in “absolute hell” but that he wanted to continue working in the sector as a company secretary as he had worked so hard to become a solicitor.
