Jung Law employee deleted a client complaint and lied about it, SRA finds conduct dishonest
A non-solicitor employee at a Middlesex law firm has been banned from working in any SRA-regulated practice after dishonestly deleting a client complaint email and lying to her firm’s directors about it.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) imposed a Section 43 order on Anisah Malik, formerly employed by Jung Law Limited of Southall, after finding she intentionally misled her employers in an attempt to conceal the deleted complaint.
According to the SRA’s published decision, between 27 January and 30 January 2025, Ms Malik told Jung Law’s directors that she had never received a client’s complaint email dated 26 December 2024. In reality, she had received and deleted the message, effectively obstructing the firm’s ability to address the client’s concerns.
The regulator found that Ms Malik’s actions were dishonest and incompatible with continued involvement in legal practice.
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The SRA said:
“Ms Malik deleted a client complaint email and then intentionally misled the directors of Jung Law Limited by stating she had not received it, when that was not true.”
The SRA concluded that her conduct “meant it was undesirable for her to be involved in a legal practice without the SRA’s prior approval”.
The Section 43 order — one of the regulator’s most serious sanctions for non-qualified staff — prohibits Ms Malik from being employed or remunerated by any solicitor or law firm regulated by the SRA without written consent. It also prevents her from holding any ownership, managerial, or supervisory role within an authorised practice.
The SRA stated that Ms Malik’s dishonesty breached the high standards of trust and integrity expected of those working within the legal sector.
The decision notice said:
“Ms Malik’s conduct was serious because it was found to be dishonest. Such behaviour risks undermining public trust and confidence in the solicitors’ profession and in the provision of legal services.”
The regulator ordered Ms Malik to pay £300 towards the SRA’s costs, citing the seriousness of her misconduct.
Section 43 orders are typically imposed on non-solicitors whose behaviour makes it undesirable for them to continue working in any legal setting. Once in force, the order bars the individual from employment across the regulated sector unless specifically approved by the SRA — a rare exception.
Jung Law Limited, based in Southall, Middlesex, reported the incident to the regulator after discovering that the firm’s directors had been misled about the missing client communication. The deleted complaint and subsequent deception were found to have breached fundamental principles of honesty and accountability.
The SRA emphasised that even administrative or support staff play an important role in maintaining client trust and professional standards. Dishonesty at any level, it said, threatens the integrity of legal services as a whole.
The order against Ms Malik took effect 28 days from the date of the SRA’s notification letter, and will remain in place indefinitely unless reviewed and revoked by the regulator.
This latest decision follows a string of SRA enforcement actions against non-qualified staff found to have engaged in dishonest conduct — including falsifying documents, misleading employers, or interfering with client information. The regulator has repeatedly stressed that such behaviour “strikes at the heart of public confidence” in the legal profession.