Targeted ex-partner
A former paralegal has been barred from working in the legal profession after being convicted of witness intimidation.
Richard Melfi-Wroe pleaded guilty to two counts of witness intimidation in February 2025, according to the SRA decision.
The offences took place between June and December 2024, including while he was working as a paralegal in the Bolton office of national law firm Keoghs, where he was employed from May 2021 until October 2024. His actions were intended to cause a police investigation to be “obstructed, perverted or interfered with”.
In May 2025, he was sentenced to 27 months in prison and given a 20-year restraining order, which remains in effect until May 2045. Media reports at the time identified the victim as Melfi-Wroe’s former partner.
The SRA found that Melfi-Wroe’s conduct breached three of its core principles, relating to the rule of law and the proper administration of justice, public trust and confidence in the solicitors’ profession, and integrity.
The regulator has now imposed a section 99 disqualification order, preventing him from holding a number of roles at licensed bodies, including as a manager or employee. He was also ordered to pay £1,350 in costs.
