Solicitor struck off over falsified CV sent to law firm
A recently qualified solicitor in Britain who lied on a job application for a London City firm has been struck off by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
Vishal Patel made false claims about his academic background on a CV which was to be submitted to Squire Patton Boggs for a job as a funds associate in its London office.
A partner with the firm reported the matter to the Solicitors Regulation Authority when background checks uncovered the false claims.
He was struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal after a one-day hearing in November.
The tribunal heard that Patel, admitted in September 2020, had been employed as an in-house solicitor at Aviva Insurance when he submitted a CV to recruitment agency Robert Walters for the private practice job, the England and Wales Gazette reports.
'First-class honours'
Patel had stated that he had a first-class honours law degree, had achieved a ‘very competent’ level in the Bar Professional Training Course and had a postgraduate law degree. It also said that he had attended the University of Aston.
Pre-employment checks revealed discrepancies between the CV and a further online screening questionnaire in which he answered that he had achieved a ‘competent’ grade on the BPTC and LPC and had achieved a 2:1 from Birmingham City University.
The checks and a further interview with Patel found he had obtained a 2:2.
Patel stated that he had created a persona that he thought was required for a role in private practice. Asked whether he had lied or falsified information to get a job, Patel said he had, but it was not a deliberate attempt to mislead.
He did not contest the decision to strike him off.
The tribunal said these were serious acts of dishonesty committed over six months which was deliberate and repeated.