Katie
Lyle
Employee
7177775
Decision - Employee-related decision
Outcome: Control of non-qualified staff (Section 43 / Section 99 order)
Outcome date: 18 July 2025
Published date: 22 July 2025
Firm details
Firm or organisation at time of matters giving rise to outcome
Name: Maitland Walker LLP
Address(es): Maitland Walker LLP, 22 The Parks, Minehead, TA24 8BT
Firm ID: 534494
Outcome details
This outcome was reached by SRA decision.
Decision details
Who does this decision relate to?
Katie Lyle
A person who is or was involved in a legal practice but is not a solicitor.
Summary of decision
The SRA has put restrictions on where and how Ms Lyle can work in a SRA regulated firm.
Ms Lyle, who is not a solicitor, was involved in a legal practice and has occasioned or been party to an act or default, which involved such conduct on her part that it is undesirable for her to be involved in a legal practice in any of the ways described in the order below.
Reasons/basis
The facts of the case
Ms Lyle misled her clients on numerous occasions between 13 January – 30 November 2023 as to progress on a matter she was conducting. Within various emails sent to the clients, she made statements that she knew to be false to conceal her lack of progress on the matter.
Following a formal complaint, Ms Lyle repeated those falsehoods to her employer causing her employer to respond to the Complaint in a way which was also misleading.
Decision on outcome
An order pursuant to section 43(2) of the Solicitors Act 1974 was imposed as Ms Lyle's conduct meant that it was undesirable for her to be involved in a legal practice without the SRA's prior approval.
The order, pursuant to section 43, was made with effect from the date of the letter or email notifying Ms Lyle of this decision.
- Ms Lyle's conduct was serious because it was found to be dishonest.
- Ms Lyle was also ordered to pay the SRA's costs of £1,350.
What our Section 43 order means
- no solicitor shall employ or remunerate her in connection with his/her practice as a solicitor;
- no employee of a solicitor shall employ or remunerate her in connection with the solicitor's practice;
- no recognised body shall employ or remunerate her;
- no manager or employee of a recognised body shall employ or remunerate her in connection with the business of that body;
- no recognised body or manager or employee of such a body shall permit her to be a manager of the body; and
- no recognised body or manager or employee of such a body shall permit her to have an interest in the body
except in accordance with the SRA's prior written permission.