An Indian-origin lawyer who was found to have misled a UK barrister's chamber by falsely claiming to have studied medicine at the University of Oxford has been disbarred for professional misconduct by an independent tribunal. Anurag Mohindru, 50, was charged by the Bar Standards Board with engaging in dishonest and/or discreditable conduct which was likely to diminish the trust and confidence in the legal profession.
The watchdog told an independent disciplinary tribunal at a hearing last week that he had brought the legal profession into disrepute in an application for tenancy at 23 Essex Street chambers back in November 2012. “In the CV he asserted he had studied biomedical science/medicine at Oxford University when he had not,” the board said in a statement this week.
“The tribunal found this behaviour was a serious breach of the standards expected of members of the Bar. Having found Mr M to have been dishonest, the panel decided that the appropriate sanction was to order his disbarment.
He has been immediately suspended pending any appeal” it noted. The tribunal concluded that Mohindru had acted dishonestly by providing false information on his curriculum vitae during the course of his application to the Essex Street Chambers and also ordered him to cover legal costs of 54,780 pounds. “Following the meeting the Board has decided that Jason Gallian will act as Interim Chair whilst Vicky Ford will assume the position of Interim Deputy Chair.