Formerly of RadcliffesLeBrasseur, Nigel has specialised in defence work for solicitors facing Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal proceedings for over 20 years. He advises solicitors and legal practices on all stages of the disciplinary process from SRA investigations to SDT proceedings and appeals. The team, led by Nigel West, is recognised as one of the leading firms for Solicitors Regulation in Chambers and Partners and is named as a Leading Individual in Professional Discipline in the Legal 500.
Many of Nigel’s clients have chosen to instruct him on their litigation cases for twenty years or more. Many of his clients are other solicitors who select him for his expertise. He has wide commercial litigation experience ranging from informal settlements to mediation, injunctions, trials and appeals.
Nigel’s work on professional regulation includes:
- Successfully defending a solicitor in the SDT facing a money laundering complaint and obtaining an order dismissing the proceedings
- Successfully appealing a decision of the SDT to strike off a solicitor for dishonesty and obtaining the SRA’s consent to a High Court order setting aside the Tribunal’s decision in its entirety and directing a re-hearing
- Acting for a solicitor facing SDT proceedings for property transactions allegedly bearing the hallmarks of mortgage fraud and negotiating the withdrawal of the proceedings on terms that the solicitor enters into a Regulatory Settlement Agreement
- Successfully acting for a solicitor appealing an SRA intervention and obtaining an order by consent that the intervention resolution be withdrawn
- Obtaining the reversal of an Adjudicator’s Decision to severely reprimand a solicitor for breach of confidentiality
Nigel West and Susanna Heley (who is also a partner at the firm) are co-authors of the 2019 and 2022 editions of ‘The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal — law and practice’.
Nigel is also a Contributing Editor to the solicitors regulation section of Cordery on Legal Services. He is also the Cases Editor for The Law Society’s Legal Compliance Bulletin.
Nigel is a Committee Member of the Solicitors Assistance Scheme and a member of the Law Society’s Regulatory Processes Committee. He has acted as an SDT duty solicitor and he sits as a Defence Representative on the SDT Users Group.
He is also a member of the London Solicitors Litigation Association and the Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers (ARDL).
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Nigel has an excellent grasp of the law and is committed to his clients meaning you get everything you need from him.
Chambers and Partners 2025 -
He's very technically sound and experienced in the area of solicitors' discipline investigations.
Chambers and Partners 2025 -
I have worked with Nigel West over the last few years on a number of very complex and sensitive matters. He is a brilliant strategist and thinks creatively to win cases.
Legal 500 2025 -
I find working with Nigel West easy as he is always available and considerate. Competent and very professional with his advice.
Legal 500 2025 -
Previously I have worked with Nigel West on difficult contested 1975 Act claims. Nigel has a good understanding of this sort of work and provided clear and pragmatic advice to the clients.
Legal 500 2025 -
Nigel West is an expert in the area of regulatory work, especially dealing with solicitors. He has written books on the SDT and Solicitors Act. He is very approachable and thorough in taking instructions. Clients will always continue to recommend him. Prepares cases to the highest standards.
Legal 500 2025 -
I am dealing with Nigel West and find him to be very competent.
Legal 500 2025 -
Nigel West is an astute tactician and always has an eye on the client's commercial objective.
Legal 500 2024 -
Nigel West is simply the best and has a specialty for professional negligence. He is supremely primed for contentious trust matters.
Legal 500 2024 -
He is an excellent solicitor in the field of regulatory law. He has an excellent success rat and he understands the needs of the solicitors who are facing professional conduct matters.
Chambers and Partners 2024 -
Nigel West possesses a wealth of experience in the legal services domain, which he utilises to counsel legal professionals and law firms on SRA appeals and SDT proceedings. He is particularly knowledgeable in relation t cases concerning sexual misconduct and SRA Accounts Rules breaches.
Chambers and Partners 2024