Solicitor who worked for three firms at once struck off

A Solicitor submitted identical timesheets to two different firms.

Belinda Sarkodie was employed full time at the law firm Muve. While working as a locum for two more firms, Wright & Lord Solicitors Limited and Property Legal (Manchester) Limited. She submitted timesheets claiming payment for the same hours from both firms, misleading them between 29 June 2021 and 16 July 2021.

Doubling down... Sarkodie defended the timesheets submitted at tribunal, explaining that her role was task based and she could therefore swap between tasks for each firm. She stated that the timesheets were a reflection of total hours worked overall, rather than accurate record of when that time was used for each firm’s work.

Her extra employment was kept from her full time employer, with her full time contract stating that she was to work solely for them.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the three firms are said to have expressed dissatisfaction with Sarkodie’s output and performance, complaining that she was not ‘readily connectable whilst working remotely’.

Allegedly clients started complaining and Sarkodie’s unsatisfactory work was sometimes redone by other members of staff.

Sarkodie attended the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and represented herself.

Claiming ignorance... When faced with these accusations, Sarkodie claimed that she did not properly look at the terms of her contract due to the amount of stress she was under within the role.

Despite this defence, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal held that Sarkodie’s conduct was dishonest. She was struck off and ordered to pay costs of £8,891.50.

Read the full judgement here.