Phil Shiner Struck Off — SDT Finds 22 Charges of Misconduct Including Dishonesty
The SDT found Phil Shiner (Public Interest Lawyers, Birmingham) guilty of 22 charges of professional misconduct. Charges included dishonesty, lack of integrity, authorising cold-calling of Iraqi clients, and paying prohibited referral fees exceeding £25,000. PIL had handled approximately 3,392 Iraq abuse allegations and received roughly £3 million in legal aid. The firm closed in August 2016 and Shiner was declared bankrupt in March 2017. Sources Legal Futures: Profession under fire after Shiner is struck off Wikipedia: Phil Shiner
Phil Shiner Avoids Prison — Receives Suspended Sentence for Iraq Legal Aid Fraud
Phil Shiner, the former human rights solicitor struck off in 2017, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, suspended, after pleading guilty to three counts of fraud. He had failed to disclose cold-calling and prohibited referral fee arrangements when applying for approximately £200,000 in legal aid funding for Iraq abuse claims. The sentencing judge described his offending as “thoroughly dishonest.” Sources Law Gazette: 'Thoroughly dishonest' Shiner avoids prison over legal aid fraud Legal Futures: Phil Shiner pleads guilty to legal aid fraud
