The lawyer who mocked the parents of disabled children on social media has been rebuked by the SRA and ordered to pay the princely sum of £600.
Mark Small, the director of Buckinghamshire firm Baker Small, was publicly shamed for his tasteless celebrations when his client, a local authority, beat an appeal brought by parents of disabled children. The parents had claimed that their council should have funded their children's specialised education, but lost those claims. Small reacted by appearing to suggest that they were misguided and/or stupid.
In the PR disaster, Small suggested that the parents' inability to appreciate that their disabled children would not receive the care they wanted "made me smile".
And then reacted to criticism with Trumpesque humility.
Reports in the media followed, clients deserted his firm in droves and several complaints were made to the SRA. The regulator has now issued him with a "public rebuke" and charged him £600 costs, stating that he contravened SRA Principles by failing to behave in a way that maintained the public's trust.
Small admitted that his 140 character truth bombs were "unprofessional and offensive", but said in mitigation that he deleted the tweets promptly, posted an apology within 24 hours and made a donation to charity. Although that may have been to avoid getting lynched.
Tip Off ROF
Mark Small, the director of Buckinghamshire firm Baker Small, was publicly shamed for his tasteless celebrations when his client, a local authority, beat an appeal brought by parents of disabled children. The parents had claimed that their council should have funded their children's specialised education, but lost those claims. Small reacted by appearing to suggest that they were misguided and/or stupid.
In the PR disaster, Small suggested that the parents' inability to appreciate that their disabled children would not receive the care they wanted "made me smile".
And then reacted to criticism with Trumpesque humility.
Reports in the media followed, clients deserted his firm in droves and several complaints were made to the SRA. The regulator has now issued him with a "public rebuke" and charged him £600 costs, stating that he contravened SRA Principles by failing to behave in a way that maintained the public's trust.
Small admitted that his 140 character truth bombs were "unprofessional and offensive", but said in mitigation that he deleted the tweets promptly, posted an apology within 24 hours and made a donation to charity. Although that may have been to avoid getting lynched.
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