Disciplinary Record - Emma Shears

Decision - Employee-related decision

Outcome: Control of non-qualified staff (Section 43 / Section 99 order)

Outcome date: 4 October 2022

Published date: 12 October 2022

Firm details

Firm or organisation at time of matters giving rise to outcome

Name: Lewis Silkin LLP

Address(es): 5 Chancery Lane, Clifford’s Inn, London EC4A 1BL

Firm ID: 439493

Outcome details

This outcome was reached by SRA decision.

Reasons/basis

The facts

Between 23 August 2004 and 29 November 2021 Ms Shears worked for Lewis Silkin LLP whose head office is at 5 Chancery Lane, Clifford's Inn, London, EC4A 1BL. She was a senior business development executive. She resigned from the firm on 29 November 2021.

It was found that Ms Shears fabricated two confirmation emails from The Legal 500 in relation to the firm's 2019 and 2020 submissions to the directory. The purported emails were dated 12 February 2020 and 10 August 2020. She also created the 2020 application after the submission deadline and sought to pass it off as being submitted on time.

The above conduct occurred between October 2020 and October 2021.

It was found that Ms Shears' conduct was dishonest. Ms Shears was ordered to pay the SRA's costs of £600 in investigating this matter.

Finding

Ms Shears, who is not a solicitor, is or was involved in a legal practice and has occasioned or been a party to an act or default which involved such conduct on her part that it is undesirable for her to be involved in a legal practice in any of the ways described in the order below.

Order

To make an order pursuant to section 43 that with effect from the date of the letter or email notifying Ms Shears of this decision:

1. no solicitor shall employ or remunerate her in connection with his/her practice as a solicitor;
2. no employee of a solicitor shall employ or remunerate her in connection with the solicitor's practice;
3. no recognised body shall employ or remunerate her;
4. no manager or employee of a recognised body shall employ or remunerate her in connection with the business of that body;
5. no recognised body or manager or employee of such a body shall permit her to be a manager of the body; and
6. no recognised body or manager or employee of such a body shall permit her to have an interest in the body except in accordance with the SRA's prior written permission.