AC-2025-MAN-000091 - [2025] EWHC 2048 (Admin)

The first set of disciplinary proceedings involved a male pupil, known for the purposes of this appeal as Pupil Y.

On 10 October 2017, at a Bar Mess function, the Appellant “put his arm around a male pupil whom he had never previously met, engaged in unwanted and excessively physical contact with him, and made hostile and intimidating statements which included stating that he [the Appellant] had “butt fucked another Chambers dry” and asking the pupil if he “had ever taken a woman dry from behind”. Within a matter of days the misconduct was reported by the pupil to his own Head of Chambers who in turn reported it to the BSB: [14].

On 19 October 2017 the Appellant attended a meeting with the Heads of his of Chambers and that of the pupil and sent a letter of apology to latter.

On 4 January 2018, after he had been notified of the complaint against him by the BSB and seen the complaint, the Appellant sent a further letter of apology.

On 8 January 2018 the Appellant provided a response to the complaint to the BSB. He admitted the charges and apologised. The Appellant’s response document was summarised in, and appended to, the BSB’s chronology. In it, the Appellant indicated that he did not wholly agree with the facts alleged, but said the differences were minor and he would not require any person to give evidence. He accepted that his behaviour on the night in question had been “unpleasant and unwanted” and said that he was “embarrassed and ashamed” by it. He said that he had been drunk and “in hindsight [I] should have gone home rather than attend the function…I was clearly in no fit state to hold a conversation and my attempts at conversation and humour were crude, bumbling and unwanted”.

He confirmed that in response to the complaint he had met with his Head of Chambers and the Leader of the Circuit. He indicated that he was “taking the matter very seriously” and was “deeply upset and ashamed that he had caused anyone distress”. He had undertaken to absent himself from the Bar Mess for 12 months “to avoid any further embarrassment for those involved”. He said that he hoped that when the matter was concluded he would be able to apologise to the three individuals involved in the incident directly.

On 20 November 2018, the Appellant appeared before a three-person disciplinary Tribunal chaired by Alan Steinfeld KC. He admitted one charge of breach of Core Duty 5 in relation to the events of 10 October 2017. The Tribunal in this case summarised the facts of the case in the manner set out at [18] above, and continued:

“16.

The complainant felt embarrassed, intimidated, and shocked by the behaviour which left him feeling violated, belittled, and disgusted and reluctant to attend further Bar Mess events. In mitigation it was said that the [Appellant]’s behaviour was an isolated incident for which he had apologised promptly and for which he had expressed genuine remorse and that there was no reason to think he would act in that way again. Having considered all the facts and the aggravating and mitigating factors including that this was “an isolated incident,” the Tribunal concluded that it was satisfied that the [Appellant] “was not going to repeat this sort of conduct again.”

The Tribunal reprimanded the Appellant and ordered him to pay £1,000. In delivering the reprimand, the Chairman said he trusted that the Appellant had “learned the lesson that, if he is already inebriated, he should not attend professional occasions”: [17].