Separate cases
A former trainee solicitor and a paralegal have been barred from working at law firms without the SRA’s permission after being convicted of sexual offences involving children in two separate, unconnected cases.
Toby Daniel Everden was employed as a trainee solicitor in the legal services department at the University of Southampton at the time of the conduct that led to his convictions.
According to a decision published by the regulator, he pleaded guilty on 17 November 2025 to charges of blackmail, making indecent photographs of a child, possessing extreme pornographic images portraying rape, and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.
The SRA found that the serious nature of Everden’s criminal conduct made it “undesirable” for him to be involved in legal practice without the regulator’s prior approval.
The regulator has now imposed a section 43 order restricting where and how Everden can work in the legal profession. He was also ordered to pay £600 towards the SRA’s costs.
In a separate and unrelated case, former Ramsdens Solicitors paralegal Anthony Sykes has been handed the same restriction following convictions for child sexual offences. Sykes worked at the firm from November 2022 until July 2023.
A decision notice states that Sykes was convicted on 11 December 2025 of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child as well as making indecent images of a child. He was sentenced the following month to a community order and made subject to notification requirements and a sexual harm prevention order, both for five years.
The SRA found that Sykes’ conduct was serious and had the potential to cause serious harm, stressing that those involved in providing legal services occupy positions of “trust and confidence”.
Sykes has now been made subject to a section 43 order, meaning he cannot work in legal practice without the SRA’s prior approval. He was also ordered to pay £600 towards the regulator’s costs.