A solicitor who worked in an Oldham firm has been suspended after she sent a dishonest email in a "moment of madness" in her otherwise "unblemished" career.

A disciplinary tribunal concerning Jane Stark, a solicitor who worked at North Ainley Solicitors on Clegg Street, took place last month where the panel heard how she made "false and misleading statements" in an email.

Ms Stark has been a solicitor for more than 15 years and was employed by the Oldham firm from October 2018 to September 2020 when she was dismissed from her role.

The tribunal heard how the solicitor had been dishonest in an email "in an attempt to obtain documents relating to a client matter" on September 17, 2020, and how her actions amounted to breaching several principles of the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

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The offending email itself was sent when Ms Stark was in the midst of an internal disciplinary hearing, during which she was suspended and barred from using the firm's email and other systems.

However, despite being warned not to send emails purporting to be working on behalf of North Ainley, and was instructed not to contact any clients or other staff members, Ms Stark sent an email to a third-party firm from her personal email address.

In the email, she falsely stated she had "server issues" which prevented her from logging on or accessing her work emails.

She then asked the recipient to send over documents to get them signed for her clients and invited the solicitors to liaise with her.

But the tribunal found her statement around connectivity issues to be "untrue and misleading" and that "she knew it was" since she had been notified of the block on her account two days prior.

The reason Ms Stark was suspended by the firm was also heard by the tribunal.

In August of the same year, Ms Stark was invited to submit a proposal for promotion to salaried partner and handed in her resignation to the firm the following day.

Internal disciplinary proceedings were then sparked after Ms Stark and another solicitor at the firm were found setting up a limited company and taking "preparatory steps" to commence practice.

North Ainley bosses considered this to be in breach of her employment contract and of "the implied duty of good faith and loyalty".

Her disciplinary hearing was set for September 17 - the same day she sent the email.

When the firm discovered the email, Ms Stark said she had a completion due on that day and was "not given the chance to deal with it before being cut off" from work emails.

She added: "I emailed because I didn't want the completion not to happen and the client to be in default of an existing loan and also because I have been prevented from contacting anyone within the firm to deal with this for me."

The firm then held a disciplinary hearing on September 21, 2020, during which Ms Stark "admitted with hindsight" that she should not have sent the email during her suspension and she was dismissed by North Ainley the next day.

But during the tribunal hearing, the panel agreed that the email was sent out of her concern for the deadline and her clients' requirements since no file handover had taken place.

Ms Stark said she was concerned other staff members would be unable to "get up to speed" with the case and the transaction which required urgent action that day.

The tribunal found Ms Stark had no financial interest and made no personal gain in the completion or via the email, and said Ms Stark was acting solely to protect clients' interests and no harm was caused by it.

However, it did find the email still amounted to serious misconduct as it contained false information.

In its verdict on April 4 this year, the panel said: “This was a single episode of misconduct in a previously unblemished career, limited to a single short email."

In normal circumstances, Ms Stark would have been struck off the roll as a solicitor since dishonesty is considered "the most serious misconduct".

But the tribunal found a number of mitigating factors weighed in her favour, such as the fact there was no personal gain or harm made, that she was acting to assist a client and that she admitted all of the allegations in full.

It also weighed up medical evidence concerning her state of mind at the time of her "moment of madness" and recognised that she has ongoing health issues.

Although it found striking off would be a "disproportionate sanction" in this case, the panel considered its need to "protect the public and the reputation of the legal profession".

“Public confidence would be damaged if a solicitor who was dishonest, even in the circumstances of this case, was allowed to continue practising", it added.

As such, the tribunal determined Ms Stark would be suspended for six months from March 21, 2023, with conditions attached which include a ban on acting as a manager or owner of a legal services body as well as a freelance solicitor or compliance officer.

Ms Stark was also ordered to pay £13,800.

If you have a story, I cover all things Oldham from food reviews and local business news to crime, property, health, community concerns and much more. Please email me at olivia.bridge@newsquest.co.uk or send me a message on Twitter @Livbridge with your news.