A solicitor who did not reveal in a job application that she had been sacked by her previous firm for falsifying emails has been struck off the roll.
Jessica Kate Harris, admitted in 2021, was working as a solicitor at Weightmans LLP when she was asked to draft witness statements, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal heard yesterday. When asked about her progress, Harris said she was awaiting signed statements from witnesses when she had not sent out drafts. She then falsified emails to show she had sent them.
Following an investigation, the national firm terminated Harris’ employment. Harris applied for a job at Capsticks that same day and ‘falsely represented the reason for her departure’ from Weightmans.
The SDT was told that an agreed outcome had been reached between Harris and the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Delme Griffiths, appearing for the SRA, said Harris had been dishonest when applying to Capsticks and had acknowledged it was ‘an act for personal gain or self-preservation’.
Reading from a statement from Harris, who represented herself, Griffiths said: ‘My intention was never malicious at all but was simply out of self-preservation.’
Asked what she thought now about what she had done, Harris said: ‘Going over it all this morning, hearing the details of it again, quite frankly it is embarrassing and shameful. Those are probably the two clearest ways I could describe how I feel about it.’
She told the tribunal that events leading up to the misconduct included completing her training contract and working through the pandemic and the bereavement of a close family member.
The three-person panel accepted the agreed outcome and found the two allegations against Harris, dating back to 2021, proved.
Paul Housego, chair of the SDT panel, acknowledged that Harris had shown ‘symptoms of grief’ but found it ‘would not account for the initial untruth and the actions that followed’. He described the misrepresentation to Capsticks over the reason for her leaving Weightmans as ‘similar to falsifying a CV’.
He said: ‘Miss Harris conceded enough to say she would not have got the job if she was truthful [about why she left Weightmans]. We took into account that from Weightmans’ point of view there was no loss to anyone and no gain to Miss Harris. There was harm to Weightmans’ reputation because they had to contact clients and harm to the reputation [of solicitors].
‘This was an initial error of judgment…[there is] no one else to blame and no outside pressure and for all those reasons we are unable to find exceptional circumstances.’
Striking off Harris, who now works ‘happily’ in the third sector and does not have a current practising certificate, the chair expressed ‘great regret’ for Harris’ personal circumstances.
Harris was also ordered to pay £5,000 in costs.
