In the Matter of the Solicitor's Act 1974: Re A Solicitor (No 17 of 2001) (Mrs Caroline Rosser)

An undischarged bankrupt solicitor may have a practising certificate reinstated subject to regulatory conditions even where the bankruptcy arose from personal debts unrelated to professional conduct. The relevant considerations are protection of the public and the standing of the profession. Conditions limiting practice to approved employment, excluding office-holding or ownership in an incorporated solicitor practice, and preventing the handling of client money are regulatory rather than punitive. Under the Solicitors Act 1974, bankruptcy automatically suspends a practising certificate, but reinstatement may be granted on appropriate conditions.

Mrs Caroline Rosser, a solicitor, was adjudicated bankrupt after personal financial difficulties following the breakdown of her marriage. Her bankruptcy involved no professional impropriety. Under section 15(1) of the Solicitors Act 1974, her practising certificate was automatically suspended.

The Office for the Supervision of Solicitors recommended lifting the suspension subject to conditions requiring approved employment, excluding office-holding or ownership in an incorporated solicitor practice, and preventing her from holding or receiving client money. The adjudicator accepted that recommendation. The review panel dismissed her application for review, deciding that the conditions were necessary to protect the public. She appealed, arguing that the bankruptcy was wholly personal and that the conditions would obstruct future employment. The central issue was whether conditional reinstatement was appropriate.

Appeal dismissed. Lord Phillips MR held that the OSS had reached the appropriate decision in lifting the automatic suspension while retaining conditions on the practising certificate.

1. The absence of professional misconduct or impropriety did not determine the issue. Mrs Rosser’s bankruptcy resulted from an inability to manage personal debts, and her professional reputation was accepted to be of the highest standard. Those matters were properly taken into account when the suspension was lifted.
2. The OSS’s primary duty was to protect the interests of the public and have regard to the standing of the profession in the eyes of the public. The public would rightly be concerned if an undischarged bankrupt were permitted to practise without supervision.
3. The conditions were regulatory rather than punitive. They required employment approved by the OSS, prevented Mrs Rosser from acting as an office holder or director or shareholder of an incorporated solicitor’s practice, and prevented her from holding or receiving client money. The conditions were therefore justified despite the absence of any professional cause for the bankruptcy.
4. The condition was to remain until the next practising certificate after discharge from bankruptcy, when the position could be reconsidered. The review panel had been entitled to decide the matter on the papers, and its decision was confirmed.

• Court of Appeal (Civil Division): Lord Phillips MR dismissed the appeal and upheld the review panel’s decision to retain conditions on the practising certificate.
• Office for the Supervision of Solicitors review panel: The panel dismissed Mrs Rosser’s application for review and upheld the adjudicator’s decision.
• OSS adjudicator: The adjudicator accepted the recommendation that the automatic suspension be lifted subject to conditions.