Legal Cheek comments love continues to role in for embattled rookies
The two paralegals suspended by Leigh Day for allegedly “touting” for Grenfell Tower business have left the firm.
News of the investigation and subsequent suspension broke just days ago, The Times reporting on its front page that the names of training contract hopefuls Harnita Rai and Sejal Sachania were found on a poster located near the scene of last month’s tragic fire.
The poster reportedly offered free legal support to “kick-start any potential insurance claims and review any complex documents”. Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) rules prohibit cold calling and other similarly intrusive methods, but this does not mean all promotional/marketing material is banned.
The Times headline — along with the usual social media vitriol — rushed Leigh Day into action; it posted this statement:
Statement from Leigh Day in relation to the allegations in The Times today regarding the Grenfell Tragedy pic.twitter.com/l4EK3XaHG2
— Leigh Day (@LeighDay_Law) July 8, 2017
Now, the firm has announced the embattled paralegals have in fact resigned. A spokesperson for the human rights outfit told us:
The two paralegals who had displayed the posters around the Grenfell site were suspended whilst this investigation took place. Both paralegals have chosen to tender their resignations before this investigation completed, these resignations have been accepted. We are clear that neither of the individuals have supplied any names to the firm as potential clients and Leigh Day was not the ‘third party’ referred to in the posters.
He continued:
We have completed our investigation and will be reporting on the matter to the SRA ourselves later this week. The SRA have not approached us.
Though news of Rai and Sachania’s resignations is hot off the press, debate about the rightness or wrongness of their actions has rumbled on since the story broke.
Yesterday, we ran an article collating messages of support from a number of lawyers, and on that article some more paralegal-directed love has emerged. One Legal Cheek commenter said: “They have not done anything wrong, it’s the damn newspapers kicking up a shit storm about nothing, preventing people from getting help they deserve.” Another went for: “Try and help someone out and you get shot down.”
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