Genuine remorse
A City solicitor previously suspended after accepting a second police caution for cocaine possession has had the remaining restrictions on his right to practise lifted.
Matthew Podger, admitted in 2013, was first cautioned for possession of cocaine in April 2014 while working at Slaughter and May. He immediately reported the incident to both the firm and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), receiving a letter of advice but facing no further action.
Podger later joined the London office of US firm Cleary Gottlieb in 2016, disclosing the caution before starting. But in March 2018, he accepted a second caution for cocaine possession after being caught with three wraps of the drug outside his home, and he failed to inform either Cleary or the regulator.
Cleary only discovered the caution months later after receiving an anonymous tip-off. Podger, who told the tribunal he feared losing both his job and marriage, was suspended and resigned three days later.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) suspended him for a year in 2020 and imposed indefinite conditions on his practising certificate, including a restriction on acting as a firm’s compliance officer, and a requirement to disclose the restrictions to any future employer.
Podger initially left the profession but returned to legal practice in May 2023 as a senior associate in the banking and finance team at HCR Legal. The tribunal heard he has since passed regular quarterly drug tests and undergone occupational health assessments in May 2023 and May 2025 confirming his fitness to practise.
He submitted that the conditions were no longer necessary to protect the public or maintain confidence in the profession, stressing the “significant passage of time” since the misconduct, sustained rehabilitation and responsible conduct in both personal and professional contexts.
The SDT noted Podger’s “complete support” from his current firm, alongside letters from managers and personal references, and observed that his family circumstances had “changed significantly” in a way that brought new responsibilities.
The tribunal was “impressed” by his “genuine remorse”, finding him a credible witness who had “fully acknowledged his past conduct and had taken the time to reflect upon it”.
Determining that the conditions “no longer served the purpose of protecting the public or maintaining the reputation of the profession”, the SDT ordered they be removed.
Podger was ordered to pay costs of £2,332.
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