A veteran solicitor has been rebuked by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for disclosing a privileged email without his client’s permission amid a fee dispute.

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Stephen Daly, admitted in 1978, had accepted instructions from the client to act for them in a child arrangement order in 2022.  A few days before a family court hearing last year, he was notified that the hearing had been adjourned.

In a published decision, the SRA said that Daly appeared to have seen the vacation of that hearing date as an opportunity to sort out fee disputes with the client.

He was notified the following day by the opposing side that the hearing had been reinstated as originally scheduled, but Daly notified the client that he was refusing to represent them at court.

The SRA said: ‘Mr Daly did not make an application to come off the court record or to adjourn. He had no proper basis to leave his client without representation. When the hearing was reinstated, Mr Daly did not recognise his professional obligation to the client, and failed to attend the hearing.’

In August last year, Daly emailed the client to discuss issues concerning non-payment of his fees, appointment attendance and issues in preparing for the case, the SRA said. 

Daly ended the email by stating that he could not represent them any longer ‘as he could not work for free’.

He then sent a copy of that email to the opposing side and asked them whether the contents of the email would change their intention to apply for a cost order against his firm, Owen Tudor Ltd.

The client later confirmed they did not waive privilege or authorise Daly to disclose the personal email and the judge confirmed in a wasted costs order that in their view, the email was subject to privilege, and had been disclosed without the client’s consent.

‘Mr Daly breached client confidentiality, which is an unqualified duty and Mr Daly should have taken reasonable steps to protect it’, the SRA said. 'He was reckless in his disclosure of the email and conduct of this nature has the potential to damage the reputation of the profession. It is in the public interest to impose a sanction, and a rebuke is the most appropriate level.'

Daly also agreed to the publication of his agreement with the SRA and that he would pay the costs of the investigation of £300.

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