An IT staff member at Ashurst, a major City law firm, has been banned from working in the legal profession after being discovered stealing and selling company laptops.
Irfan Malik, who served on the IT service desk at Ashurst, took two laptops from the firm’s IT storeroom in October 2023 and sold them to a local business for £500. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has now prohibited him from re-entering the profession without its explicit consent, under section 43 of the Solicitors Act 1974.
The situation unfolded when the law firm identified the absence of the laptops. Further investigation revealed that one of the devices had been accessed using the same WiFi connection as Mr Malik’s work computer. Initially, Mr Malik denied any involvement and was unable to explain why the laptops were traced to a local business owner’s address. However, in a subsequent meeting, he altered his statement, claiming he had retrieved the laptops from the business owner by paying £500 for them, and further elaborated that the business owner had purchased them from a Gumtree advertisement.
The following day, Mr Malik confessed to the act. The SRA stated that his behaviour rendered him ‘undesirable for involvement in legal practice,’ citing the potential risk of repeated dishonest conduct if he were allowed to work without prior approval.
The revelation of Mr Malik’s laptop theft has led to a significant step by the SRA to prevent future misconduct in the legal field, reflecting the importance of integrity in the profession.
