Mislead colleagues
A paralegal who intercepted a council letter sent to her firm about her personal debt has been sanctioned by the regulator.
Roberta Dawn Tovey was working as a paralegal at Thompsons Solicitors’ Bristol office when, on or around 8 July 2025, she intercepted a letter from South Gloucestershire Council addressed to the firm’s payroll department. The letter related to an order for money to be deducted from her wages over a personal debt, according to a decision notice published by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
The SRA also found that Tovey misled the firm about the debt. She told a colleague it had been resolved and was a council mistake, then claimed in a WhatsApp message that the council had the wrong person. She later forwarded an “edited” email that appeared to be recent correspondence from the council, despite knowing it was not.
Tovey’s conduct was found to have breached three of the SRA’s core principles relating to public trust and confidence in the solicitors’ profession, honesty and integrity.
The SRA has now imposed a section 99 disqualification order, preventing Tovey from holding a number of roles at SRA-licensed law firms, including as a manager or employee. She was also ordered to pay £600 in costs.
