Lord Harley to take strike-off decision to Court of Appeal

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By Thomas Connelly on

He’s appealing on Equality Act grounds

harley

Alan Blacker, aka Lord Harley, has confirmed that he will be filing an appeal with the Court of Appeal against the High Court’s recent decision to uphold his striking off.

In a statement released via his barrister, Blacker said he “is appealing against the decision that the listing of a hearing is exempt from the Equality Act 2010.”

Continuing, the press release — issued by Goldsmith Chambers’ Dr Anton van Dellen — states that Blacker “considers that it is very important that decisions about where hearings are heard should fall within the scope of legislation passed to protect the rights of people with disabilities.”

Last summer, Blacker — who has in the past described the disciplinary proceedings against him as a “witch hunt” — was booted out of the legal profession. After a two-day hearing, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) found that the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) had proven seven out of eight charges against Blacker, including dishonesty. He cited health problems and did not attend proceedings.

At a High Court hearing earlier this month, van Dellen relied on the Equality Act 2010 to argue that the SDT acted beyond its remit when it decided to push on with the original proceedings in Blacker’s absence. Mr Justice Davis rejected this appeal and said the tribunal was justified in its decision to proceed.

Claiming that he has been denied an opportunity to address the “accusations” directly, the new statement adds:

Dr Blacker is grateful to all those who have continued to support him since his striking off, knowing that if were able to answers these accusations in a tribunal, he would be able to answer them directly.

It also reveals that Blacker will appeal against his hefty £86,000 costs order issued at the original disciplinary hearing. It continues:

[Blacker] considers that the manner in which such high costs are awarded against solicitors should be reviewed by the Court of Appeal as it is an important point of principle or practice.

With the release sent to a select group of journalists (not Legal Cheek…), news of Blacker’s latest appeal surfaced on Twitter this morning thanks to top legal affairs journalist Catherine Baksi.


Read the statement in full:

My client is filing an appeal in the Court of Appeal against the recent decision in the High Court. He is appealing against the decision that the listing of a hearing is exempt from the Equality Act 2010. He considers that it is very important that decisions about where hearings are heard should fall within the scope of legislation passed to protect the rights of people with disabilities.

He is also appealing against the costs of £86,000 after a hearing lasting only 2 days. He considers that the manner in which such high costs are awarded against solicitors should be reviewed by the Court of Appeal as it is an important point of principle or practice.

Dr Blacker is grateful to all those who have continued to support him since his striking off, knowing that if were able to answers these accusations in a tribunal, he would be able to answer them directly.


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