Fee earner banned after forwarding confidential data to new law firm

Patrick Maginn sent 50+ client emails to himself before joining McDermott Smith, now he’s barred

A fee earner has been banned from working in the legal profession after it was revealed he emailed himself over 50 client files before leaving one law firm for another.

Patrick Maginn, who briefly worked at Bond Turner in Liverpool, downloaded sensitive client documents and internal workflow materials to his personal email without consent before moving to nearby firm McDermott Smith Law in November 2023.

According to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), Maginn’s actions included forwarding the materials to his new work email and using them in his new role. The regulator concluded that he had demonstrated a “lack of integrity” and “no proper regard” for the proprietary nature of the documents or the confidentiality of client information.

He worked on housing disrepair claims at Bond Turner for just five months. Before his departure, he sent himself dozens of emails containing client data, legal templates, and workflow tools. Some of those files were later used in his new role—an act that violated legal protocols and data confidentiality standards.

The SRA imposed a Section 43 order, effectively barring Maginn from working in any SRA-regulated law firm without its explicit permission. The ruling described his conduct as “a serious departure from the high ethical standards expected of those working in law firms.”

Maginn was also ordered to pay £600 in costs.

But this wasn’t his first brush with consequences. In a civil case brought by Bond Turner, Maginn was found guilty of contempt of court in 2024 for breaching a court order tied to the stolen information. The court handed him a four-month suspended sentence, which would be activated if he failed to comply with the order to delete all data he had taken.

His new firm, McDermott Smith Law, has since collapsed into administration. The firm was reported to have racked up debts of over £37 million before going under, raising further scrutiny about its operations and oversight.

The SRA’s ruling underscores the importance of data protection and ethical conduct among all legal professionals—not just qualified solicitors. While Maginn was not a solicitor himself, his access to sensitive materials and client files placed him under the same professional obligations.