Samina Ahmed struck off by disciplinary tribunal for exaggerating her billable time
Samina Ahmed’s claimed hours were ‘an impossibility’, a tribunal said
Tim Sigsworth
A solicitor claimed to have worked 28 hours a day in an attempt to earn a £70,000 bonus.
Samina Ahmed, 46, was struck off after exaggerating her billable hours to qualify for her firm’s 400 per cent bonus scheme.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal also fined her £5,000 after ruling her claimed hours were “an impossibility” which showed “dishonesty and lack of integrity”.
Ms Ahmed worked as a legal aid solicitor at Tuckers Solicitors in Manchester between 2005 and 2022.
But she was dismissed in June 2022 after being found to have recorded an average 28 hours a day at work over the past 11 months.
‘No bonus was paid’
The tribunal heard the senior solicitor was “motivated by the firm’s bonus scheme” to alter her hours.
“Ms Ahmed aimed to reach the highest bonus tier (400 per cent of salary), potentially earning £69,300,” Frosoulla Kyriacou, chairman of the tribunal, said in the judgment.
“No bonus was paid, however, as the firm discovered the misconduct in time.”
