The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has published its judgment striking off Alan Blacker, the infamous Harry Potter lawyer otherwise known, mostly to himself, as Lord Harley.

Alerting readers to the green ink nature of Blacker's evidence, the SDT noted that it was reproduced, "as it was provided to the Tribunal, including the use of bold type and any typographical errors". The judgment contains a multitude of highlights, including his reason for not turning up at the tribunal:
 

Before choosing to avoid a downer on his special day, Blacker had failed to meet with SRA investigators. His justification for cancelling his appointment comprised a series of unfortunate, if unlikely, events:



Subsequent requests to interview Blacker were met with emailed responses including, "what part of "injured" do you not understand?", “I  am  a  carer  on Dr  Blacker’s  phone.  Dr  Blacker  is  finally asleep”, and, "Dr Blacker is resting from his ordeal until next week”.

Blacker, yesterday

A significant plank of the SRA's case was challenging the validity of Blacker's many qualifications, which included his claim that he attended Trinity College. None of Dublin, Cambridge or Oxford University had any record of Blacker. Further dubious qualifications were listed in a document titled, "Biographical account of the professional development and skills of Dr Alan Blacker, lawyer, psychologist, anthropologist, advocate, advisor and consultant", which solicitor John Smith said Blacker had given to him. Blacker's response was unambiguous:



Blacker claimed another credential while he was at it:



Blacker's own testimony was submitted with an incorrectly formatted statement of truth which proclaimed, “This is my statement, made as a peer of the realm and a knight of the Order of St John". But those titles also came under scrutiny. When the Secretary General of the St John Ambulance Service testified that no-one called Alan Blacker or Lord Harley had ever been a member, Blacker explained that he belonged to the "official order dating back to the eleventh century", not the "modern English order" whose claims to be the true order were "clearly pompous rubbish". Blacker said he quit because he "found the brigade to be amateurish and filled with emotionally and intellectually damaged people".

When asked to provide copies of documents relating to his alleged mishandling of client monies, Blacker told the SRA that he had been given waivers from the regulator which allowed him not to produce them. But he said that he would only produce the waivers if the SRA placed an advert in the Law Society Gazette stating that Blacker's practice had received a “clean bill of health”.

Blacker had another interesting explanation when he was asked why his claimed LPC grade was a lot higher than his actual result:



Struggling law school students are hereby invited to post their mediocre results to RollOnFriday Learning Plan Limited, 1 Temple Avenue, London, EC4Y 0HA. They will receive a fully independent assessment and a certificate confirming a new mark equal to the number of pound coins enclosed in the envelope.

Meanwhile, Blacker has applied for a rehearing of his case. He is being represented by Goldsmith chambers barrister Anton van Dellen on a pro bono basis, which could make for an awkward atmosphere back in the office. Blacker's claim that he was a member of the Association of Military Courts Advocates was refuted by testimony from the chairman of the AMCA, Lord Thomas. Who also happens to be a barrister at Goldsmith chambers. Neither responded to a request for comment.

Alan Blacker judgment