A solicitor with 17 years of experience has been permanently removed from the legal profession after a disciplinary tribunal found she fabricated her work hours, including claims of working up to 28 hours in a single day, to secure a massive bonus.
The Fabricated Work Marathon
Samina Ahmed, who worked at Tuckers Solicitors, was discovered to have repeatedly falsified her timesheets over a 12-month period. An investigation revealed she logged a staggering 7,511.70 billable hours across just 266 days. Astonishingly, on 133 of those days, her recorded hours exceeded the 24 hours available in a day.
The misconduct, uncovered in 2024, was directly linked to the firm's bonus structure. This system offered financial rewards of up to 400 percent of a solicitor's salary for exceptionally high billable hours. Ahmed's inflated records were a deliberate attempt to push herself into the highest bonus tier, which could have netted her close to £70,000.
Consequences for Public Trust and Funds
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal heard that a significant portion of Ahmed's work involved prison clients funded by legal aid. This meant the falsified hours were billed to the publicly funded Legal Aid Agency. As a direct result of her false claims, Tuckers Solicitors was forced to repay £98,093 to the Legal Aid Agency.
The tribunal noted that Ahmed continued to falsify her time records even after being warned about integrity during a staff meeting. In its ruling, the panel stated she had "acted dishonestly and without integrity" and that her conduct was a serious breach of trust, both financially and professionally.
The Final Sanction and Reduced Costs
The tribunal concluded that the misconduct's seriousness and the foreseeable damage to public confidence in the legal profession warranted the most severe penalty. Samina Ahmed was struck off the solicitors' roll, barring her from practicing law.
She was also ordered to pay £5,000 in costs, a significant reduction from an initial £49,600. The tribunal considered her current financial situation, where she told the panel she now works in lower-paid retail jobs and an apprenticeship with Wigan Council. She remains a single parent supporting three children while receiving universal credit and child benefit.
While acknowledging her limited means, the tribunal stressed that a reduced costs order was still appropriate, emphasizing that her actions had fundamentally failed to uphold the public trust and confidence essential to the legal profession. No bonus was ever paid out, as the irregularities were detected in time.
