News

Daniel Benedyk successfully represents the Solicitors Regulation Authority in a challenge to higher rights of audience

Daniel Benedyk successfully represented the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in the High Court, in a judicial review brought by a solicitor against a decision that he was not authorised to exercise higher rights of audience [see here].

Mr Ogun passed an advocacy assessment in 2006, but did not apply for a formal qualification from his regulator. He subsequently appeared as an advocate, and during an arbitration appeal before the Commercial Court inquiries were made with the SRA. The SRA decided that Mr Ogun had never been entitled to exercise higher rights of audience, which Mr Ogun claimed wrongly misinterpreted regulations and violated his human rights.

In dismissing the claim, Mr Justice Mostyn found that the Claimant's position was "untenable", and that the regulations "clearly presuppose" that following the successful completion of an advocacy assessment there would be an application to the regulator for grant of the qualification. Criticising the Claimant for having pursued "completely disproportionate" litigation, he found that Mr Ogun now needed to "put his house in order".

Please see links below for press coverage:

Law Gazette
Legal Futures