Barrister’s attempt to blame dyslexia for misleading CV fails

Rejected by tribunal

An unregistered barrister unsuccessfully attempted to attribute providing misleading information about his legal experience on his CV to his dyslexia.

Yasser Mahmood applied for a position as an external examiner with Arden University, claiming to have been a practising barrister and detailing “a range of work” he had undertaken.

However, Mahmood had never completed a pupillage or obtained a practicing certificate, which meant he was not authorised to practice as a barrister.

Legal Cheek reported Mahmood’s disbarment last month, with a bar tribunal now revealing his claim that CV inaccuracies were due to dyslexia.

The full ruling published this week reveals that Mahmood’s CV claimed he had gained experience at the now-defunct Tooks Chambers, including “advocacy and responsibility for conduct of cases and client conferences”.

“Mr Mahmood accepted that this gave the impression to a person reading the CV that he had been a practising barrister during that period,” the tribunal said. “However, he said that this was as a result of an honest mistake arising out of his dyslexia.”

The tribunal recognised his 2005 diagnosis of a “specific learning difficulty of a dyslexic nature” but dismissed it as an excuse for the misleading CV.

Mahmood argued that the reference to advocacy was meant to be a reference to his “day to day discussions with professionals”. This was rejected by the tribunal given his completion of the bar course and his professional experience since.

He also claimed to have been a member of the mini-pupillage committee at Tooks, describing his role as administrative but insisting he still viewed himself as part of the committee. The tribunal found this claim implausible and concluded that it further created the impression he was a member of chambers.

The tribunal noted that the membership section of his CV he referred to himself as a barrister (non-practising).

The tribunal rejected Mahmood’s claim that referring to himself as a barrister in the legal experience section of his CV was an honest mistake caused by his dyslexia. It noted that the CV was a clear and comprehensive document with no other apparent errors. When questioned, Mahmood was unable to identify any additional mistakes in the CV.

“Having considered the evidence overall and the submissions of counsel for the BSB and Mr Mahmood, the panel concluded that Mr Mahmood had behaved in a manner which was likely to diminish the trust and confidence which the public placed in him or in the profession and could reasonably be seen by the public to undermine his integrity and honesty,” the tribunal said.

Mahmood was disbarred and ordered to pay costs of £2,670.