Angry solicitor to protest outside SRA

A solicitor angry about the closure of his firm by the SRA is to protest outside the regulator's offices in Redditch later this week.

Chris Gadd, whose Southampton personal injury firm Christopher Gadd Limited was shut by the SRA in 2009, is suing the SRA for unlimited damages at the High Court.

Speaking to Solicitors Journal today, Gadd said he felt a 'bitter sense of injustice' about the way his firm was shut, even though there was nothing wrong with it.

He said the reason for the intervention was the fact he remained partner of another firm, WB Legal.

Gadd said he was in the process of dissolving WB Legal because fellow partner Mark Bronzite had, among other things, dishonestly misused client money, for which Bronzite was later struck off.

Gadd said closure of his firm in December 2009, which had 30 staff and 2,000 clients, was 'totally disproportionate', and the SRA failed to consider other options or give him any warning.

As a result he launched proceedings against the regulator at the end of last year, suing it for unlimited damages.

The Southampton solicitor said that, given the size of his firm, the amount of compensation at stake could run into several million pounds.

He said an attempt to strike out the action by the SRA failed at the start of last month and his case was being relisted for a full hearing.

Gadd said his protest on Wednesday morning aimed to annoy the SRA and generate press coverage. He said he would be walking up and down outside their offices carrying placards reading 'I will not be bullied by the SRA', 'SRA repeated failures costs clients millons' and 'Why won't the SRA ever admit their mistakes?'

He added that a fourth placard would direct people to a video on YouTube.

An SRA spokesman said: "It would be inappropriate to comment on Mr Gadd's Youtube video while litigation proceedings are still active.

"However, it might be worth reiterating that which we have previously, said, namely that Mr Gadd admitted several allegations in the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and was suspended from practice for six months. This is a significant penalty and the Tribunal therefore clearly considered his misconduct to have been serious.

"The SDT also recommended that Mr Gadd should in future only work in employment approved by the SRA. The SDT has agreed that he should not practise as a principal but only as an employee.

"There was a substantial shortage in the client account of WB Legal and Mr Gadd 's practising certificate was suspended by the intervention, with consequences for any other practice of which he was a principal. Intervention does not freeze the personal assets of a solicitor which can be used to fund any proceedings should they wish to challenge interventions."