The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has cleared human rights firm Leigh Day and three of its solicitors of allegations of professional misconduct in the handling of claims relating to allegations of atrocities by British troops in Iraq.
The firm, senior partner Martyn Day, equity partner Sapna Malik and solicitor Anna Crowther had denied 19 charges.
The case has taken seven weeks to come to this point, with members of the tribunal spending the whole of this week considering their decision.
Allegations against the firm and solicitors included personally endorsing claims in a 2008 press conference, late disclosure of a key document, disposal of a translation of that document, unlawful payments to a third party and not acting on the use of the word ‘bribe’ in three emails handled by the firm.
But none of the allegations of professional misconduct were found to be proven to the required criminal standard of proof.
Malik left the packed hearing in tears having joined her colleagues to hear the decision read out for each allegation.
On the issue of the press conference, the tribunal said Malik's involvement was minimal, while Day's making and endorsement of the allegations was 'not improper' in the context of the time.
The tribunal said there was no duty on Leigh Day to disclose the document any earlier than 2013, when the Al-Sweady Inquiry requested to see all relevant files. Crowther's handling of the hand-written translation was 'undoubtedly a mistake [but] not sufficiently serious to be professional misconduct'.
The tribunal cleared Leigh Day of misconduct over financial arrangements with Public Interest Lawyers director Phil Shiner, and found no subsequent duty to report him to the regulator.
On the issue of emails mentioning the word 'bribe', the tribunal said the SRA had not showed that Day or Malik knew of suspected any payments to clients to be improper.
The issue of costs will be decided at a hearing likely to be at the end of this year. Leigh Day's costs were said to be £7m earlier in this hearing, while the SRA's costs will also run to seven figures. Any adverse costs order against the SRA would leave the profession footing the bill for the prosecution.
The SDT's longest-ever trial heard allegations that the Ministry of Defence and the Solicitors Regulation Authority enjoyed an ‘unhealthily cosy relationship’ in the build-up to charges against the firm.
Representing the defendants, Patricia Robertson QC of Fountain Court Chambers said the case had a wider significance for all solicitors and warned that a finding of misconduct might stop others from speaking up or acting in difficult cases.
Timothy Dutton QC acted for the SRA.
Breaking news: Leigh Day and its lawyers cleared of all allegations
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