Former Macfarlanes paralegal accessed and used confidential materials to gain an unfair advantage at an assessment day.
The SRA has banned her from working in law without its permission.
The SRA has barred a former paralegal at Macfarlanes from working in law after she was found to have accessed material, including model answers, to give herself an edge at a training contract assessment day she attended at the firm.
The regulator has imposed a Section 43 order on Elena Jalali, banning her from working in any regulated law firm without its permission.
She was also ordered to pay a proportion of the SRA's costs of £600.
What happened
In the decision - published today - the regulator said that Jalali gained unauthorised access to confidential training contract assessment materials at Macfarlanes, including a business case study, model answers and the marking criteria.
She then used the materials to “gain an unfair advantage during the firm’s assessment day in August 2023”.
When the firm investigated, Jalali denied the allegations.
The SRA said:
“Ms Jalali's conduct was serious because it demonstrated a lack of integrity and a breach of the trust placed in her by her then employers. Her conduct was also dishonest and such behaviour risks affecting public trust and confidence in the profession."
The bigger picture
Macfarlanes has one of the most sought-after training contracts of any City firm. It takes on 33 trainees each year.
It's also the best-paying UK firm outside of the Magic Circle. New solicitors earn £140,000 on qualification.
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