Masood Ahmad, a solicitor at Mass Law, was rebuked by the SRA over duplicated statements and a missed deadline
Masood Ahmad, the sole practitioner at Ealing-based firm Mass Law Limited, has been rebuked by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) after failing to properly supervise staff in two immigration matters. The SRA found that Ahmad had oversight failures, leading to serious issues in two asylum cases.
In one matter, a senior immigration caseworker at the firm sent witness statements to the Home Office that contained identical paragraphs from two separate clients. The duplication occurred when evidence from one client’s statement was mistakenly included in another client’s statement. These statements were sent two weeks apart in August 2023.
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In another case, the firm was tasked with submitting an urgent judicial review (JR) application for an asylum matter in October 2024. Ahmad instructed a trainee solicitor to handle the application, but the judge at the Upper Tribunal later issued a ‘show cause’ notice. The notice required the firm to explain who was responsible for the application, as it was deemed poorly prepared and lacked merit. The firm failed to meet the deadline for the response, submitting it 19 days late. The judge expressed concerns about the substandard nature of the application.
The SRA’s investigation revealed that Ahmad, despite being an experienced solicitor and manager, had not implemented adequate supervision for his staff, particularly with the paralegals’ work. Furthermore, the firm allowed a non-authorised person to issue a judicial review application. The SRA noted that although the issue involved only two cases, both were significant, given the vulnerable nature of the clients and the serious risks posed by the improper handling of their asylum matters.
While the SRA decided that a more serious sanction was not warranted due to Ahmad’s cooperation with the investigation and his subsequent implementation of a more effective supervision system, the rebuke remains a cautionary reminder for solicitors handling sensitive cases. The regulator highlighted the importance of ensuring proper oversight, especially in cases involving vulnerable clients who are at risk of severe detriment due to mistakes or mishandling.
The SRA added that the cases involved asylum and immigration work, areas in which clients are often particularly vulnerable and at risk of serious harm due to errors in handling their cases.