Pile of unanswered letters caused ‘fire hazard’
A solicitor has been struck off after “abandoning” his own law firm, leaving client letters and complaints to pile up outside his office.
Toslim Uddin Ahmed, admitted to the roll in 1998, had been operating as a sole practitioner at Universal Solicitor since its launch in 2005. However, in November 2021, he abruptly abandoned the practice. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) was able to contact him only once before ultimately closing the firm
The story began in March 2022, when the landlord of the property Ahmed was renting contacted the regulator, reporting that the solicitor had not been seen on the premises for “months on end,” had not paid rent, and had not responded to any communications. A follow-up email later confirmed that the office had been “abandoned”.
Having attempted unsuccessfully to contact Ahmed on a number of occasions, the SRA intervened in May 2022, noting that client files that were left in the abandoned office “were likely to contain confidential and privileged information” and “were held in an unoccupied office which was due to be re-let”.
The regulator subsequently discovered 1,374 files, which included complaints from clients, complaints from the legal ombudsman, and invoices issued to clients without any evidence that work had been completed.
The situation was so bad that, in the words of the landlord, another tenant in the building had been “throwing away the solicitor’s letters” since late November 2021 as they were piling up in the corridor and “creating a fire hazard”. Clients were also seen crying outside of Ahmed’s office about the lack of progress on their cases.
Following its intervention, the SRA made several unsuccessful attempts to contact Ahmed before eventually reaching him once in January 2023. During this conversation he confirmed his mobile number and postal address and remarked that “he should have closed the firm down 10-15 years ago” due to his declining health. Since then, the SRA has not received any further responses from him.
The solicitor-less firm was ultimately closed down by the SRA, with Ahmed referred to the Solicitor’s Disciplinary Tribunal over his actions. He did not engage with the proceedings at any stage, and the tribunal continued in his absence.
In deciding that a strike off was the appropriate sanction, the tribunal noted the serious impact of the solicitors absconsion.
“No solicitor, let alone one with the Respondent’s level of experience, would abandon their practice and leave it in such a chaotic state,” the tribunal said. “The Respondent’s conduct demonstrated a lack of care for anyone affected by the closure, principally his clients who were seemingly ‘left high and dry’.”
In addition to being struck off, Ahmed was ordered to pay £21,000 costs.
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