Chukwuma Emele, a Nigerian lawyer based in the UK, has been disbarred by the Bar Standards Board of England and Wales for professional misconduct.
The regulatory body for lawyers in England and Wales disbarred Mr Emele in 2012 after the Nigerian lawyer was investigated and convicted for unauthorised practice by a five-man tribunal panel.
Mr Emele, who was called to the Bar in 2010, was disbarred for professional misconduct, including dishonesty and the fraudulent diversion of clients’ funds for personal purposes, among others.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal convicted him on April 25, 2012, of misconduct under the rules of an approved regulator, namely the Law Society/Solicitors Regulatory Authority.
A document of Mr Emele’s disbarment order seen by the Peoples Gazette read, “Chukwuma Emele engaged in conduct before Call which was dishonest or otherwise discreditable to a barrister, namely the conduct in running Credo Law Office, which the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal subsequently found in its written judgment dated the 25th April 2012 he had engaged in, which conduct was not, before Call, fairly disclosed to the Benchers of the Inn calling him.
“That Chukwuma Emele engaged before Call in conduct that was dishonest or otherwise discreditable to a barrister, namely declaring in his Admission Declaration to Lincoln’s Inn on the 1st February 2010 that ‘I am not aware of any matter which might reasonably be thought to call into question my fitness to become a practising barrister’ when he had in fact engaged in conduct in running Credo Law Office which the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal subsequently he had engaged in, which false declaration was not, before Call, fairly disclosed in writing to the Benchers of the Inn calling him.”
The disciplinary panel found, among other things, that Mr Emele had used £2,500 belonging to a client for his own purposes.
“The Tribunal was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Emele had misappropriated at least £2,000 of Mr K’s money in that he had received it, had used it for some unknown or unclear purpose such that it was no longer available on account to be refunded to the client, and that Mr Emele had not been entitled to deal with Mr K’s money as he had,” the document stated.
According to the document, the tribunal further ordered that, as from March 1, 2012, except in accordance with Law Society permission, no solicitor shall employ or remunerate, in connection with his practice as a solicitor, Chukwuma Emele.
It added that, per the disbarment order, no employee of a solicitor shall employ or remunerate, in connection with the solicitor’s practice, the said Chukwuma Emele; no recognised body shall employ or remunerate the said Chukwuma Emele; no manager or employee of a recognised body shall employ or remunerate the said Chukwuma Emele in connection with the business of that body.