Top barrister on £787,000 a year who gave £2,300 to a drug-addicted Legal Aid client to help her ‘turn her life around’ is suspended for six months

  • Roy Headlam handed over a total of £2,300 to a drug addict legal aid client
  • She had allegedly told him she could not afford to eat or pay electricity bills
  • At a disciplinary tribunal in October, Mr Headlam admitted breaching the rules
  • Last week Mr Headlam was suspended for six months and handed a £1250 fine

By Keiran Southern For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

A barrister who gave a drug addict client thousands of pounds for food, clothes and other bills has been suspended.

Roy Headlam handed over a £2,000 cheque to the woman just months after giving her £300 in cash outside his chambers, Furnival Chambers, when she allegedly told him she could not afford to eat.

Mr Headlam, once one of the highest paid legal aid lawyers in the country, admitted to a disciplinary panel he had been naive and regulators found his behaviour was 'likely to diminish the trust and confidence which the public place in the profession'.

Barrister Roy Headlam has been suspended after handing over thousands of pounds to a drug addict client for food and other bills 

Barrister Roy Headlam has been suspended after handing over thousands of pounds to a drug addict client for food and other bills 

The high-flying lawyer, who practised for 34 years and has appeared in serious criminal cases at the Old Bailey, told the Ministry of Justice in 2010 his annual earnings from legal aid were £787,000, according to the Times. 

At a disciplinary tribunal in October, Mr Headlam admitted breaching professional rules and was suspended last week.

He accepted handing over a total of around £2,300 between late 2013 and early 2014 in an attempt to help the drug addict 'turn her life around'. 

The panel heard the barrister thought he was helping the struggling woman with electricity bills, college course fees and food.

Mr Headlam handed over a £2,000 cheque to the woman just months after giving her £300 in cash outside his chambers when she allegedly told him she could not afford to eat 

Mr Headlam handed over a £2,000 cheque to the woman just months after giving her £300 in cash outside his chambers when she allegedly told him she could not afford to eat 

But the hearing was told the client was a manipulative drug addict and there could be no way of knowing if she was using the cash to feed her habit.

Mr Headlam had compromised his independence when defending her in court, the tribunal found, regardless of his motives in handing over the money.

And in the tribunal's ruling they found Mr Headlam had failed to co-operate with the Bar Standards Board, his regulatory body, after claiming he had no bank account.

In Mitigation Mr Headlam said he had not been dishonest. He was fined £1250 and suspended for six months.

The decision is open to appeal.  

 

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