A paralegal with international firm Macfarlanes has been barred after trying to cheat in the battle for a training contract.
Elena Jalali repeatedly accessed confidential information in July and August 2023 to see documents she was not allowed to view.
These files included a business case study exercise, model answers and the mark scheme ahead of a training contract assessment day she was attending in August 2023.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority said she then used that information to gain an unfair advantage on the assessment day itself.
When the matter was investigated by the firm, Jalali she denied accessed the information when she knew she had done so repeatedly.
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The SRA said: 'Ms Jalali’s conduct was serious because it demonstrated a lack of integrity and a breach of the trust placed in her by her then employers. Her conduct was also dishonest and such behaviour risks affecting public trust and confidence in the profession.’
Jalali, from north London, was made subject to a section 43 order, restricting her from working for any regulated legal firm without the SRA’s prior approval. She was also ordered to pay a proportion of the SRA’s £600 costs.
A Macfarlanes training contract is a highly-coveted placement. Last year, the firm increased the salaries of its newly qualified solicitors by £25,000 to £140,000, having offering positions to 27 of 32 trainees in the latest round. Trainee salaries also increased last year at Macfarlanes, to £56,000 in year one and £61,000 in year two.
