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Nigel West
Formerly of RadcliffesLeBrasseur, Nigel has specialised in defence work for solicitors facing Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal proceedings for over 20 years. He advises solicitors and legal practices on all stages of the disciplinary process from SRA investigations to SDT proceedings and appeals. The team, led by Nigel West, is recognised as one of the leading firms for Solicitors Regulation in Chambers and Partners and is named as a Leading Individual in Professional Discipline in the Legal 500.
Many of Nigel’s clients have chosen to instruct him on their litigation cases for twenty years or more. Many of his clients are other solicitors who select him for his expertise. He has wide commercial litigation experience ranging from informal settlements to mediation, injunctions, trials and appeals.
Nigel’s work on professional regulation includes:
- Successfully defending a solicitor in the SDT facing a money laundering complaint and obtaining an order dismissing the proceedings
- Successfully appealing a decision of the SDT to strike off a solicitor for dishonesty and obtaining the SRA’s consent to a High Court order setting aside the Tribunal’s decision in its entirety and directing a re-hearing
- Acting for a solicitor facing SDT proceedings for property transactions allegedly bearing the hallmarks of mortgage fraud and negotiating the withdrawal of the proceedings on terms that the solicitor enters into a Regulatory Settlement Agreement
- Successfully acting for a solicitor appealing an SRA intervention and obtaining an order by consent that the intervention resolution be withdrawn
- Obtaining the reversal of an Adjudicator’s Decision to severely reprimand a solicitor for breach of confidentiality
Nigel West and Susanna Heley (who is also a partner at the firm) are co-authors of the 2019 and 2022 editions of ‘The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal — law and practice’.
Nigel is also a Contributing Editor to the solicitors regulation section of Cordery on Legal Services. He is also the Cases Editor for The Law Society’s Legal Compliance Bulletin.
Nigel is a Committee Member of the Solicitors Assistance Scheme and a member of the Law Society’s Regulatory Processes Committee. He has acted as an SDT duty solicitor and he sits as a Defence Representative on the SDT Users Group.
He is also a member of the London Solicitors Litigation Association and the Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers (ARDL).
- +44 (0)20 7227 7232
- nigel.west@weightmans.com
Susanna Heley
Formerly of RadcliffesLeBrasseur, Susanna is a Partner in our solicitors regulation team.
She is a litigator specialising in regulatory law and professional disciplinary work for solicitors and other legal professionals, in addition to general commercial litigation. She has also acted for solicitors challenging the refusal of professional indemnity cover.
Susanna acts for individual solicitors, partners and employees in all professional disciplinary matters including:
- SRA investigations;
- applications and appeals relating to Practising Certificate conditions;
- disciplinary proceedings before SRA adjudicators;
- LeO complaints;
- referrals to the SDT;
- statutory appeals to the High Court, including challenging intervention decisions and appeals against sanctions; and
- judicial review proceedings.
In addition to advising solicitors when things go wrong, Susanna advises on compliance and reporting obligations and has assisted COLPs and COFAs in relation to investigations concerning compliance with their duties and in connection with applications for approval as role holders.
Susanna also advises on data protection, the Separate Business Rule, applications for recognition and approval and Alternative Business Structures.
Susanna’s litigation practice includes advising on contractual disputes, director and shareholder disputes, partnership issues, insolvency issues and general commercial disputes.
Through her work with the City of Westminster and Holborn Law Society, Susanna has been involved in lobbying in relation to policy development and has spoken about legal regulation and current regulatory issues to international audiences.
She has a regular column in the Solicitors’ Journal as a regulatory lawyer and is a contributor for LexisNexis on regulatory matters, in particular in relation to conflicts of interest.
Susanna acts for solicitors, including individuals and employees and commercial entities of varying sizes from sole traders to large group companies and profit and non profit institutions predominantly in service, retail and manufacturing (including research and development) industries.
Susanna Heley and Nigel West (who is also a partner at the firm) are co-authors of the 2019 and 2022 editions of The Solicitor Disciplinary Tribunal — law and practice.
- +44 (0)20 7227 7463
- susanna.heley@weightmans.com