Tribunal finds solicitor and firm failed to meet transparency and compliance obligations
A solicitor and his law firm have been fined after the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal found prolonged failures to comply with regulatory requirements and repeated non-engagement with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). At the relevant time, Habibur Choudhury was the firm’s Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (COLP) and an owner of Archstone Solicitors.
The case arose from an SRA adjudication dated 19 October 2022, which imposed a fine, costs, and conditions on the firm’s authorisation following findings that its website failed to comply with the SRA Transparency Rules 2018. The firm was required to demonstrate compliance within 30 days and remove its former website.
According to the Tribunal, the firm failed to bring its websites into compliance for approximately two years despite repeated contact from the regulator. The SRA carried out multiple website reviews and identified ongoing failures relating to cost information, complaint information, the firm’s SRA number, and the SRA digital badge.
The Tribunal also found that Choudhury failed to cooperate with the SRA between November 2022 and March 2025. The judgment records numerous instances where correspondence, requests for information, and follow-up communications from the regulator went unanswered. Both Choudhury and Archstone Solicitors admitted the allegations. The Tribunal accepted the admissions and found all allegations proved, including breaches of the SRA Principles, the Code of Conduct for Solicitors, the Code of Conduct for Firms, and the Transparency Rules.
In considering sanction, the Tribunal assessed culpability towards the higher end of the low-to-medium range and found that the principal harm arose from damage to the reputation of the profession caused by the apparent indifference shown towards the regulator. The Tribunal noted that there had been no complaints from clients and no evidence of harm to individual members of the public. It also accepted that the breaches had eventually been remedied and that Choudhury had shown some insight and remorse.
However, the Tribunal concluded that the seriousness of the misconduct required a financial penalty. It placed the misconduct within Level 1 of its sanctions guidance and imposed a fine of £4,500. The penalty is payable jointly and severally by Choudhury and Archstone Solicitors Limited. The Tribunal also ordered the solicitor and the firm to pay costs of £15,000 on a joint and several basis.