Olivia Joanne Edwards
Employee
648347

Decision - Employee-related decision

Outcome: Control of non-qualified staff (Section 43 / Section 99 order)

Outcome date: 22 August 2019

Published date: 24 September 2019

Firm details

Firm or organisation at time of matters giving rise to outcome

Name: Lyndales LLP

Address(es): Lynton House, 7-12 Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9LT

Firm ID: 569114

Outcome details

This outcome was reached by SRA decision.

Decision details

Olivia Joanne Edwards, a person who is or was involved in legal practice but is not a solicitor, is now subject to section 43 Solicitors Act 1974 (as amended).

 

Reasons/basis

The Facts

At the relevant time Ms Edwards was employed by Lyndales LLP at Lynton House, 7-12 Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9LT as a paralegal/legal clerk.

In March 2017 Ms Edwards accessed a colleague’s email account without authority and covertly recorded a conversation between her colleague, counsel and a client. In November 2017 she disclosed confidential and privileged information in a letter to the judge in a case and breached an undertaking.

Finding

I find that Ms Edwards is or was involved in a legal practice (as defined by section 43 (1A) of the Solicitors Act 1974) but is not a solicitor and has occasioned or been a party to, with or without the connivance of a solicitor, an act or default in relation to a legal practice which involved conduct on her part of such a nature that in the opinion of the Society it would be undesirable for her to be involved in a legal practice in any of the ways set out in the order below.

Other information

Order

To make a section 43 order that with effect from the date of the letter or email notifying Ms Edwards of this decision:

• no solicitor shall employ or remunerate her in connection with his/her practice as a solicitor;
• no employee of a solicitor shall employ or remunerate her in connection with the solicitor’s practice;
• no recognised body shall employ or remunerate her;
• no manager or employee of a recognised body shall employ or remunerate her in connection with the business of that body;
• no recognised body or manager or employee of such a body shall permit her to be a manager of the body; and
• no recognised body or manager or employee of such a body shall permit her to have an interest in the body

 except in accordance with a Society permission.