A barrister who broke a hotel receptionist’s jaw with a hockey stick has been suspended for three years and fined £2,000. He is due to be admitted to the roll of solicitors next year.
Felix Joel Evans, 29, received a two-year suspended sentence in 2018 after assaulting a hotel worker in the early hours of the morning. According to the tribunal’s judgment, Evans had been drinking heavily when he hit the receptionist with a hockey stick three times, once in the face breaking his jaw and twice on his back.
The tribunal found that Evans – who never started pupillage after being called to the bar in 2014 – had acted in a way which was likely to diminish public trust and confidence.
After the incident, Evans paid for counselling and attended Alcoholics Anonymous.
‘Were it not for the efforts the respondent has made to put his life in order we would not have hesitated to disbar him. However, we do consider all that he has done since the incident to repair his life to amount to exceptional circumstances,’ the tribunal said.
Evans was suspended for three years and fined £2,000.
According to the Bar Tribunals & Adjudication Service, Evans now works for a firm of solicitors, has qualified as a solicitor, and is due to be admitted to the roll in March 2021.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority was told of his conviction and allowed him to start a period of recognised training. The firm employing him is aware of his convicition.
