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SRA adjudicators

 

26 July 2011

SRA adjudicators make decisions about regulatory matters.

Our panel of adjudicators includes 17 legally qualified adjudicators and 11 lay adjudicators.

Adjudicators make decisions such as

  • whether or not to reprimand a solicitor,
  • whether or not to prosecute a solicitor before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, and
  • whether or not intervene (close down) a firm.

They also take decisions on admitting students and foreign-qualified lawyers to the roll of solicitors.

In complex cases, a panel of three adjudicators is involved in making the decision.

The names and profiles of SRA adjudicators are listed below under the headings of legally qualified adjudicators and lay adjudicators.

Carmel Bamford

  • Solicitor admitted in England and Wales and in Hong Kong
  • Experienced in commercial law both in City private practice and in house
  • Previously Director of Operations and Compliance of a fund management company based in Singapore and Legal Director of a UK property development company
  • LLM in Chinese and Commercial Law and studied for an MA in Islamic and Middle Eastern Law

Nicola Bircher

  • Solicitor
  • Immigration Judge, Chairman of Social Security Appeals
  • Lay panel member of the Nursing and Midwifery Panel (fitness to practise disciplinary hearings)
  • Legal assessor to the General Medical Council (advising the panel that hears disciplinary hearings regarding the medical profession)
  • Member of the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School education appeals panel
  • Former partner and head of matrimonial department in private practice

Emma Boothroyd

  • Qualified as a barrister in 1999.
  • Admitted as a solicitor in 2000
  • Worked in private practice as a childcare lawyer
  • Joined the Law Society in 2003 as a practice standards advisor
  • Appointed as an adjudicator in 2006 dealing with making decisions for the Legal Complaints Service with emphasis on miners compensation and immigration
  • Since August 2009, dealing with a variety of regulatory work for the SRA
  • Also sits as Chair of the Code Compliance Tribunal for Phonepay Plus and Adjudication Panel Tribunal for Wales

Nigel Butcher

  • Qualified as a solicitor in 1976 and, from then until 2004, was engaged in private practice in South Wales
  • On the Criminal Duty Solicitor Panel for many years and also a member of the Law Society Family Panel and Mental Health Review Tribunal Panel.
  • Since 1995, has sat as a legal member of the Mental Health Review Tribunal for Wales
  • Appointed a full-time Adjudicator in 2004, since when he has made decisions in all matters dealt with by the SRA

Bal Dhaliwal

  • Recorder in Crown Court – Judicial Secretariat, First-tier tax judge, Finance and Tax Tribunal, DDJ (Magistrates' Court), City of Westminster
  • Independent Peer Reviewer, Legal Services Commission
  • In private practice on own account

Fiona Freedland

  • A solicitor who specialises in the field of medical law
  • For many years, she worked in the field of law and healthcare policy as Legal Director for a national charity.
  • She played an active role in the Shipman Inquiry and in policy work regarding the regulation of healthcare professionals.
  • In 2009, she returned to private practice to work for a niche medical law firm.
  • Until recently, was an active member of several consumer panels including that of the Official Solicitor, Bar Standards Board and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
  • She was also an active member of the Serious Injury Committee of the Civil Justice Council.
  • As well as her work as an Adjudicator for the SRA, she is also a Fitness to Practise Panellist for the Nursing Midwifery Council.
  • She undertakes several public speaking roles on the subject of Medical Law and Ethics.

Ceri Griffith

  • Admitted as a solicitor in 1981
  • Worked for many years for the Law Society, dealing mainly with conduct and regulatory matters
  • Appointed as a Law Society adjudicator in 2000
  • Also sits in the Immigration and Asylum Chamber, First-tier Tribunal

David Honeybone

  • After graduating, worked as a research economist and then qualified as a solicitor in 1981
  • Practised in Leeds with a predominantly legal aid firm and acted as managing partner for five years; specialised in employment and business law
  • Joined the Law Society as a full-time adjudicator in 2003, specialising in work done by what became the Legal Complaints Service (including acting as lead adjudicator for miner's compensation scheme complaints)
  • Moved back to the SRA as an adjudicator in 2010
  • Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Disciplinary Committee since 2002
  • Director of Leeds City Credit Union
  • Vice-Chair of Governors of the Northern School of Contemporary Dance (HEI)

Dr Raj Joshi

  • Barrister in private practice
  • Formerly Director, Legal Practice and Quality Assurance, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)
  • Assistant Director Policy (International) CPS
  • Chair, Society of Black Lawyers, 2000-2001 (currently Vice-Chair)
  • Member of the College of Law Advisory Board and Member of MACRO'S National Race Issues Advisory Committee

Alexandra Marks

  • Solicitor since 1983
  • Former partner in City firm (commercial property and finance work)
  • Recorder (crime and civil)
  • High Court Deputy (Queen's Bench Division)
  • Chairman, Professional Conduct Committee, Architects Registration Board
  • Consultant Editor, Cordery on Solicitors
  • Previously a Law Society Council Member representing the City of London and Chairman of the Law Society's Law Reform Board
  • CEDR-accredited mediator

David Phillips

  • Solicitor with more than 30 years of experience in private practice
  • Currently locum/consultant solicitor at various practices, undertaking a broad range of civil and family work
  • Deputy District Judge
  • Spent six years overseas, firstly as a Provincial Legal Adviser in Solomon Islands and then as Head of Legal Services Division, South Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency, and a Provincial Legal Adviser

Anne Seifert

  • Barrister
  • Member of the Conduct and Appeals Committee, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
  • Immigration Judge
  • Chairman of Discipline and Appeals Committee, Council for Licensed Conveyancers
  • Deputy Chairman, Agricultural Land Tribunals
  • Chairman, Residential Property Tribunal Service
  • Previously in practice at the Bar, mainly in real property work
  • Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators

Jetinder Shergill

  • Barrister
  • He has recently set up his own business and is a member of the Institute for Leadership and Management and an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
  • Previously, he advised the Home Office and the Scottish Government, was an adjudicator at the Financial Ombudsman Service and taught public law as a visiting lecturer at King's College London.

Dominic Spenser Underhill

  • Solicitor in private practice - Spenser Underhill Newmark LLP, London WC1
  • Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
  • Legal Assessor to two disciplinary tribunals

Sue Webb

  • Joined the Law Society in 1987
  • Former Law Society caseworker, project leader and manager, working variously in Conduct, Regulation and Complaints, in London and the Midlands, before becoming a full-time adjudicator in 2000

John Weeden

  • Solicitor
  • Commissioner at the Criminal Cases Review Commission
  • Previously Director of RAF Legal Branch and RAF Prosecuting Authority as an Air Vice Marshal

Julian Weinberg

  • Solicitor and self-employed consultant, having been in private practice for more than 25 years
  • Solicitor Advocate
  • Chairs a number of professional regulatory Fitness to Practise Panels and also chairs an Education Appeal Panel
  • Member of the Compliance Committee of the SRA
  • Trustee of the Howard League for Penal Reform and Action for Prisoners Families

Lay adjudicators

Dr Dozie Azubike

  • HM Inspector of Health and Safety
  • Board Member, Thames Valley Charitable Housing Association
  • Lay Member, General Social Care Council Conduct Committee
  • Lay Member, Chartered Institute of Insurers Appeals Committee
  • Independent Member, Agricultural Dwelling House Advisory Committee
  • Lay Member, Advisory Committee on Animal Feedingstuffs
  • Lay Member, Fitness to Practice Committee, General Optical Council
  • Lay magistrate

Libhin Bromley

  • Associate Member of West Mercia Probation Trust Board
  • Magistrate on Herefordshire Bench
  • Chairman of the Youth Panel
  • Deputy Chairman of the Bench Training and Development Committee
  • Lay member of the First-Tier Tribunal – Health, Education and Social Care Chamber, Primary Health Lists
  • Lay member of Qualifications Committee of the Bar Standards Board
  • Lay member General Dental Council Fitness to Practise Panel

John Clarke

  • Former Royal Navy officer
  • He was Chief Executive of the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office and Chief Executive of the British Marine Federation, and trained as a commercial and community mediator.

Hank (Dominic) Cole

  • Head of Investigation, Wales and West, Serious Organised Crime Agency
  • Previously a Customs and Naval Officer

Richard Davies

  • Registered Commissioner at the Infrastructure Planning Commission since 2010
  • Formerly a member of the Management (Main) Board at the Welsh Assembly Government and, successively, Head of the Education and Lifelong Learning, and Public Service and Performance departments
  • Previously employed in several departments of the UK central government in Whitehall and overseas
  • Non-Executive Director at HM Courts Service in Wales 2005-10
  • Non-Executive Member of the Knowledge and Membership Boards at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
  • Lay Member of the Fitness to Practise Panels at the General Medical Council and General Pharmaceutical Council
  • Visiting Professor, University of Glamorgan
  • Honorary member of the British Council and member of its Advisory Committee for Wales
  • Trustee of the Nationwide Foundation, Carnegie UK and, until recently, Regent’s College London
  • Partner in Quantrill Reynolds Associates

Surendra Deo

  • Background in general medical practice and forensic medicine
  • Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and a Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners
  • His work is mainly divided between professional regulation, as a Case Examiner and Employer Liaison Advisor with the General Medical Council, and postgraduate training and education, as Associate Director for the London Deanery (University of London).

Graham Donald

  • Vice-Chair, Lay Advisory Committee and Lay Member, Examinations Committee, Royal College of Pathologists
  • Lay Member of Complaints Committee, Bar Standards Board
  • Deputy Chair of Investigating Committee, General Chiropractic Council
  • Lay Member of the National Blood Transfusion Committee and of its Patient Information Working Group
  • Previously Director of Corporate Services (Privy Council Office) and Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council
  • Chair of Trustees of Crisis Centre Ministries, a Bristol homelessness charity
  • Secretary of Bristol School of Christian studies

Kate Douglas

  • Kate Douglas is a mediator at the London Special Education Needs Mediation Service.
  • She is a lay member of the Fitness to Practise Committee of the General Pharmaceutical Council, and is a Justice of the Peace and a Mental Health Act Manager.
  • Kate was previously an academic mathematician and chair of a mental health charity.

Joanna Marshall

  • Consultant working in health, social care, regeneration and education in the statutory and voluntary sectors
  • Provides training, facilitation, business planning, capacity building, strategic leadership and evaluation services to a range of clients
  • Previously employed in charities and local government

(David) Grahame Owen

  • Member of the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the General Dental Council
  • Non-Executive Director of an NHS Trust providing mental health and associated services
  • Disciplinary panel member for several professional bodies

Margaret Sentamu

  • Freelance diversity and recruitment management consultant
  • Formerly Head of Diversity and Principal Consultant, Odgers & Berndtson
  • Board Member of Traidcraft Plc, and trustee of various charities

Please use www.sra.org.uk/adjudicators to link to this page.