Paralegal barred after fabricating email to cover up error

Misled court

A paralegal has been barred from working in the legal profession after fabricating an email to cover up a mistake that caused a client’s case to be struck out.

Chaida Aboobakar was working as a personal injury paralegal at New Law Solicitors, a Cardiff-based firm, when she mistakenly included the wrong case number on a payment request. As a result, the case was struck out due to non-payment of the required fee.

In an attempt to cover up the error, Aboobakar fabricated an email showing the correct case number, according to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). However, this email did not match the original one held by the court.

In an application for relief against sanction, the paralegal submitted a witness statement in which she explained the unpaid fee was down to the court’s error and even went as far as instructing counsel on the matter.

The matter continued for around four months, during which the paralegal insisted the court was at fault and made similar claims to the opposing solicitors.

Concerns raised by the judge handling the case prompted an internal investigation by NewLaw. The firm found that the only email sent to the court was the original one containing the incorrect case number — confirming that Aboobakar had fabricated the follow-up email in an attempt to cover her tracks.

On that basis, the SRA found Aboobakar to have “deliberately tried to mislead the court, counsel and solicitors for the counter-party and had fabricated documentation placed before the court. In doing so, she acted dishonestly and without integrity”.

The regulator disqualified Aboobakar from holding any role at a law firm. She was also directed to pay costs of £600.