Ex-Debevoise staffer banned after posing as associate in personal tenant dispute
A former unqualified Debevoise employee has been banned from working in legal practice without SRA permission after she pretended to be a solicitor to handle a personal matter.
Ridita Rahman posed as a Debevoise associate, used her work email and Debevoise’s letterhead in correspondences related to her landlord partner’s dispute with a tenant.
A former employee at Debevoise has been barred from working in legal practice without the SRA’s permission after she posed as an associate to deal with a personal landlord and tenant dispute.
Ridita Rahman, a non-solicitor employed as an AML compliance analyst at the US firm’s London office from July to December 2024, used the firm’s letterhead and her work email account to correspond with a tenant of her partner, who was the landlord, in December 2024.
She referred to herself as an associate and used her work email to send an eviction notice to the tenant. She also falsely claimed Debevoise was representing her partner in the dispute.
The regulator handed her a section 43 order, which places limits on her ability to work for any SRA regulated organisation.
Any solicitor, recognised body, or manager or employee of a solicitor or recognised body cannot employ her without written permission from the SRA.
Join 10,000+ City law professionals who start their day with our newsletter.
The essential read for commercially aware lawyers.
