Legal Cheek gets two mentions
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) decision that saw eccentric ‘Harry Potter’ lawyer Lord Harley struck off the roll has been published in full.
The 56-page document (embedded below) details why Lord Harley, real name Alan Blacker, was booted out of the profession and slammed with an £86,000 costs order for — among other things — making statements about his academic qualifications that were “inaccurate and misleading”.
Harley’s legendary LinkedIn page, which is still live, proved to be a real talking point for the tribunal. On his online profile, it’s claimed Harley holds a number of colourful job titles including ‘Transactional Analysis Psychoanalytical Psychologist’ and ‘Fellow’ of the Zoological Society of London. It also claims he has degrees from Trinity College, Manchester Met, Leeds Beckett, Kaplan Altior and a number of foreign universities, including Stanford.
It may seem farfetched, but Harley — who did not attend the recent disciplinary hearing — told the SDT via his witness statement:
My academic standing as illustrated in the LinkedIn profile gives the best representation of academic position and I will not waver from.
Other interesting extracts from the respondent’s witness statement include his comment that the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) allegations against him are “baseless” and that the applicant had acted in “bad faith”. He also states that one of the witnesses, John Smith, is a “cretin”, and continues:
I first met him through a Rolls-Royce enthusiasts club meeting and have only met in [sic] once, and once was more than sufficient. He was rude, arrogant and offensive and has generally been asked to leave more Rolls-Royce events than I care to imagine.
You can have a full read of the judgment below. Legal Cheek even gets a mention on pages 28 and 50.