The Solicitors Regulation Authority has insisted it supports solicitors going through mental health struggles, amid claims that it had barred someone based on their medical history.
A Reddit post from before Christmas attracted attention on social media platforms after the author suggested they had been stopped from practising by the SRA because they had previously attempted to take their own life.
The anonymous solicitor posted that they had been engaged in an employment dispute which resulted in an investigation that was ultimately closed with no further action.
They claimed that the SRA then imposed conditions stopping them from practising because it had read about the suicide attempt in medical records. The post added: ‘They say that suicide risk means that I might lack the capacity to understand my professional duties or follow rules.’
The Gazette understands the SRA does not have a policy of automatically placing conditions on a solicitor on mental health grounds alone – there would need to be an identifiable risk to the public. When an investigation is started, the regulator signposts solicitors to help, advising them to contact organisations like mental health charity Lawcare.
An SRA spokesperson said: ‘While we cannot comment on individual cases, making sure the profession feels supported is vitally important to us. We understand the regulatory process can be a challenging time, particularly for those that are already vulnerable or suffering from poor physical or mental health. If someone is struggling, we treat them with the utmost care and urgency.’
Matthew Letts, a solicitor who highlighted the issue on Linkedin, has put forward the idea of a crowd funding campaign to challenge the position taken in the High Court.
‘I would like to try and help the solicitor involved take action to right the injustice which has been done, and get the restrictions removed (as well as potentially obtaining findings against the SRA to avoid this happening in the future),’ wrote Letts. He added that the SRA’s reported stance was ‘extremely troubling’ and one that ‘just exacerbates the mental health crisis in the profession by further stigmatising and (effectively) recriminalising suicide by the back door’.
Having considered the SRA’s comments, Letts extended an open invitation to the Solicitors Regulatory Authority to engage with him and others to explain what practical steps it is taking to ensure the profession feels supported. He told the Gazette the SRA should confirm whether it has used its powers to impose conditions on the practice of solicitors, without a referral to the SDT, based on mental health conditions, which has the practical effect of suspending those solicitors’ ability to practice and which leaves their only recourse being to commence High Court proceedings to challenge the SRA’s decision. He also invited the SRA to confirm whether or not it seeks advice from qualified professionals in the relevant fields, such as psychiatry, before taking such decisions.