It seems that everyone is pretending – or at least allegedly pretending – to be a lawyer these days. See: here, here and here.
So this latest incident should come as no surprise.
On August 4 last year James Mangan told officers at an Oxfordshire police station that he was representing a man being held on suspicion of domestic violence.
According to the prosecuting barrister at Mangan’s trial at Oxford Crown Court last week, “Mr Mangan approached the counter and introduced himself and said he was representing Keith Bailey. He was asked if he was a solicitor and said ‘I’m the MD of Mangan Associates.”
Mangan, 39, then apparently explained that a pal of his, John Evans, was “with him” and a visitor’s badge was prepared for each of them.
The duo then proceeded to the custody suite, where they were allowed to speak to the arrested man.
The police smelt a rat when a member of the custody staff told them the arrested man was in an interview room with his solicitor, despite the fact that he had not requested one.
They then asked Mangan and Evans for identification. They couldn’t produce any, so the police asked them whether or not they were trained solicitors. Mangan replied “I am”, with Evans at this point admitting that he wasn’t.
Mangan and Evans then headed off to visit the alleged victim of the domestic violence incident. Drawing upon his deep pool of legal knowledge, Mangan advised her that she could streamline the process by simply obtaining an injunction against her alleged attacker. He then called the police and told them that she wanted to change her statement, before driving her to the police station.
Mangan’s barrister said that he didn’t mean to break the law. “He saw himself as helping out what he considered to be two friends,” he explained.
But Judge Eccles told Mangan, who admitted attempting to pervert the course of justice after initially denying the charges, that his actions had crossed the custody threshold. Mangan will be sentenced on June 1.