Non-solicitor stored client files in garage and faked documents to cover destruction, SRA says
A former assistant practice manager at a London law firm has been banned from working in any SRA-regulated practice after secretly removing client files from secure storage and attempting to pass off reconstructed versions as originals when the documents were later destroyed.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has imposed a Section 43 order on Emeka Alex Okoabah, who worked for Liberty Bridge Solicitors Ltd in Euston between February 2018 and July 2023. The regulator found his conduct dishonest and incompatible with continued involvement in the legal profession.
According to the SRA, between March 2020 and June 2023, Mr Okoabah — who was not a solicitor — took archived client files from the firm’s secure storage facility without permission and stored them in his personal garage.
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In June or July 2021, and again in June 2023, those client files were accidentally shredded by a third party. Despite knowing that the documents had been destroyed, Mr Okoabah did not inform the firm. Instead, when Liberty Bridge Solicitors later requested some of the files to be submitted to the Legal Aid Agency, he attempted to reconstruct the missing records and pass them off as originals.
The SRA said the misconduct involved a clear breach of trust and serious dishonesty. The regulator described the behaviour as “involving acts and defaults of such a nature that it is undesirable for him to be involved in a legal practice”.
The decision means Mr Okoabah is prohibited from working in any SRA-regulated firm without prior written approval. The Section 43 order prevents him from being employed, remunerated, or holding any managerial or ownership role in a solicitor’s practice or recognised body.
The SRA’s findings stated:
“Mr Okoabah’s conduct was serious because it demonstrated a lack of integrity and a breach of the trust placed in him by his employers. His conduct was also dishonest and risks affecting public trust and confidence in the profession.”
The regulator said the incident came to light after Liberty Bridge Solicitors sought archived files in connection with Legal Aid submissions in 2021 and 2022. It was then discovered that the files had been removed from secure storage years earlier without consent.
By falsifying reconstructed versions of destroyed client files, the SRA found that Mr Okoabah’s actions not only misled his employer but also risked undermining regulatory and legal obligations concerning client data handling and record-keeping.
The SRA noted that dishonesty of this nature “strikes at the heart of trust in legal services” and therefore warranted the imposition of the strictest employment restriction available to the regulator.
In addition to the employment ban, Mr Okoabah was ordered to pay £600 towards the SRA’s investigation costs.
The decision underscores the regulator’s zero-tolerance approach to dishonesty and mishandling of confidential client material — particularly where conduct involves deliberate concealment and falsification.
Section 43 orders are typically reserved for serious misconduct by non-qualified staff whose actions make it undesirable for them to be involved in legal practice. Once imposed, such restrictions remain in force indefinitely unless successfully reviewed or revoked by the SRA.
The SRA concluded that Mr Okoabah’s behaviour had the potential to damage public confidence in the legal profession and justified permanent restrictions on his future employment in the sector.