12 month suspension
A trainee solicitor who took a second job at the Home Office and used his access to check visa files linked to clients, relatives and people he knew has been suspended from practice for 12 months.
Md Towhidul Islam was working at immigration firm Waterstone Legal when, in August 2019, he also started work as an executive officer litigation caseworker at the Home Office.
The second role gave Islam access to the Home Office’s Central Referencing System, which contains confidential information relating to UK visa applications. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal heard that he went on to access eight files which had not been allocated to him.
Two related to clients of Waterstone Legal, five concerned members of his family and another involved someone he knew personally. Most of the immigration matters had already concluded by the time Islam accessed them, and the SRA accepted that his actions had no direct impact on any live appeals.
Islam also failed to tell the Home Office that he was continuing to work as a trainee solicitor while employed as a caseworker. Given the nature of the two jobs, the tribunal found that he should have recognised the potential for a conflict of interest and disclosed his position.
The tribunal heard that Islam had been warned when he joined the Home Office that access to its systems was restricted and that personal data had to be handled carefully.
There was no evidence that Islam passed any of the information he accessed to a third party or that he intended to cause harm. The tribunal nevertheless found that the risk of harm from accessing confidential immigration records without a proper reason should have been obvious.
It described Islam’s conduct as stemming from a “misplaced and inappropriate curiosity” about immigration matters with which he had a personal connection.
Islam admitted acting recklessly, lacking integrity and failing to behave in a way that maintained public trust in the profession. Allegations of dishonesty were withdrawn by the SRA as part of an agreed outcome.
In mitigation, Islam said the conduct took place during a particularly difficult period in his life, when he was balancing his studies, two jobs and family pressures connected with his wife’s pregnancy. He also stressed that he had not yet qualified as a solicitor at the time of the misconduct.
Islam resigned from the Home Office in November 2019 and qualified as a solicitor the following year. The tribunal heard that he had since reflected on what happened and that there had been no further disciplinary concerns.
The SDT suspended Islam for 12 months and imposed conditions on his practice for a further year. During that period, he will require SRA approval for certain employment and will be prevented from taking on roles including law firm owner, manager or compliance officer.
He was also ordered to pay £41,350 towards the SRA’s costs.