Keshia Herbert was banned from legal work after recording hours for work she never did
A legal assistant from the West Midlands has been banned from working in any law firm without prior approval from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) after being found to have acted dishonestly by falsely recording time for work she had not completed.
The SRA imposed a Section 43 order under the Solicitors Act 1974 against Keshia Herbert, who was employed at Higgs LLP in Brierley Hill at the time of the misconduct. The order, which was published on 16 October 2025, prevents Herbert from working in any SRA-regulated law firm or being employed in connection with legal services unless she receives explicit written permission from the regulator.
The SRA’s investigation found that Herbert falsified time records for work she claimed to have completed while working from home in early January 2024. She was allowed to work remotely on 4 and 5 January 2024, but later entered timesheets claiming she had completed seven hours of legal work on each day. Investigators found that the work had not, in fact, been carried out on those dates.
On 9 January 2024, Herbert allegedly told her supervisor that she had contacted the firm’s IT department about missing time entries, even though she had not done so. Later that month, and again in February 2024, she confirmed to her managers that she had worked on 4 and 5 January — a statement the SRA said she knew was false.
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The regulator found her behaviour to be dishonest and concluded that her actions made it undesirable for her to be employed in a legal practice. Although Herbert is not a qualified solicitor, her role as a legal assistant meant she was subject to professional conduct rules governing honesty and integrity in the workplace.
The SRA’s formal order, made under Section 43(2) of the Solicitors Act, prohibits any solicitor, law firm, or legal practice manager from employing or remunerating her in connection with legal work without first obtaining the SRA’s written approval. The order also prevents her from holding an ownership stake or management position in any regulated firm.
The SRA stated: “Ms Herbert, who is not a solicitor, was involved in a legal practice and has occasioned or been a party to an act or default which involved such conduct on her part that it is undesirable for her to be involved in a legal practice.”
Herbert was ordered to pay £600 in costs towards the SRA’s investigation.
The regulator’s decision reflects the SRA’s ongoing focus on maintaining honesty, trust and integrity within the legal profession — standards that apply not only to solicitors but to all staff working in SRA-regulated entities. The SRA has repeatedly warned firms that employees who falsify records, mislead supervisors, or attempt to conceal mistakes can expect strong disciplinary measures, even if they do not hold practising certificates.
Higgs LLP, which is based at 3 Waterfront Business Park in Brierley Hill, is a licensed body regulated by the SRA. The firm reported the matter after discovering discrepancies in Herbert’s time records, triggering the regulator’s investigation. There is no suggestion that anyone else at the firm was involved in or aware of her actions.
The case serves as a reminder that dishonesty in time recording — even in relatively minor cases — can have serious career consequences in the legal sector. Section 43 orders are among the most restrictive sanctions available for non-solicitors, effectively barring them from future employment in regulated law firms without explicit approval.
The order against Herbert took effect 28 days after she was notified of the decision, meaning she is now prohibited from working in any legal practice unless she obtains the SRA’s permission to do so.