The district judge at Stratford Magistrates’ Court found that the barrister, who had been called to the Bar in 2009, held an objectively irrational and unsustainable” belief that his former partner had been stalking him or had hacked into his computer.
In retaliation, the court found that the barrister had sent a total of 48 “very abusive and irrational” emails to his former partner over a period of two and a half weeks in March 2021.
The tribunal stated that there was a “degree of paranoia” present in the emails, which “demonstrated a paranoia towards the complainant which bordered on the delusional.”
The barrister in question had been reported to the police by his ex-partner and in December 2021, he was convicted of harassment.
In February 2022 he was sentenced to a 12-month community order of attending a programme named “Building Better Relationships”, a restraining order for two years and £695 of total penalties.
The tribunal unanimously agreed that the barrister's actions seemed to be a one-off incident and that “relatively limited harm was caused” to his ex-partner.
Despite guidance suggesting that the barrister in question should have been suspended for over 12 months, the five-person panel found that, in these circumstances, nine months was a reasonable length of suspension.
They continued:
“We are well aware that the impact of the nine-month suspension from practice will be significant but we have tried to balance our serious criticism of [the barrister’s] behaviour in 2021 – which necessarily includes the expectation of the public in relation to the behaviour of professionals and specifically of barristers – with the reality of your present circumstances.”
He was also ordered to pay £2000 in costs.
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