SRA said lawyer’s actions relate to his private life
A solicitor who used a photograph of a Bollywood superstar on his online dating profile in order to “seduce women” will NOT face regulatory action.
The married lawyer used on his Tinder account an image of Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan (pictured), who, according to the Daily Mail, “looks similar to him”. The astonishing report in the newspaper claims that the solicitor — who cannot be named for legal reasons — used the pseudonym “Antony Ray” and got swiping.
Anna Rowe, one of a number of women who claims to have been duped by the legal Lothario, eventually discovered his true identity and fired off a complaint to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
Now, in a letter sent to Rowe and subsequently seen by Legal Cheek, the SRA has confirmed it will not be taking any action against the solicitor. Accepting that he had “misled” Rowe about his real name, the regulator stated:
While we do understand your concerns, and we appreciate why you feel strongly about [lawyer’s name] behaviour, his actions relate to his private life and were outside of his practise as a solicitor. Our role is to protect legal consumers. He has not used his position as a solicitor to gain any advantage or act in a way which would damage the trust the public places in the provision of legal services.
Speaking to Legal Cheek, a spokesperson for the SRA added:
We deal with all matters on a case-by-case basis, and treat allegations of dishonesty in the profession very seriously. This instance related to actions in a solicitor’s private life. The evidence did not show that people using legal services have been put at risk.
The 44-year-old, who lost her job as a teaching assistant after going public with her story, spoke to Legal Cheek today. She told us that “professional and personal conduct for a profession like this cannot and should not be separated. Teachers, doctors, nurses, politicians and many many more are all held accountable for personal conduct.”
Previously, Rowe told the Daily Mail:
The first week of law school sees them [lawyers] all told about the code of conduct and at the heart of that is the need to act with integrity at all times. Would those in other regulated professions be able to act so dishonestly and keep their jobs? I very much doubt it.
So enraged by the lawyer’s actions, Rowe has launched a national campaign against catfishing (using a fake profile to start an online romance). The appeal calls for “creating fake profiles for the intent to use people for sex to be a crime” and has received over 41,000 signatures.
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