Former Ashurst analyst banned by SRA over missing laptop

A former Ashurst IT analyst has been barred from working in law without regulator permission after taking a firm laptop home and failing to return it.

The regulator found that Lewis Duncan acted dishonestly after removing one of the firm's laptops from its Glasgow office without permission in February 2024, taking it home for his own use and never returning it.

Ashurst eventually tracked down the missing computer using security software installed on its laptops.

In a decision published on Tuesday, the SRA said the firm first discovered laptops were missing from its Glasgow IT storeroom later that February and carried out checks to work out what had happened.

Its security software allowed the IT team to track one of the missing laptops even if it had been wiped and set up again.

That led Ashurst back to Duncan as the firm found that the laptop had connected to the same home IP address and Wi-Fi network he used when working remotely on his usual firm-issued laptop.

Ashurst subsequently remotely locked the device, making it unusable. Anyone turning it on would see a message asking them to contact the firm's IT helpdesk, but Ashurst said it never received a call.

Following an internal investigation and disciplinary hearing, Ashurst concluded that Duncan had taken the laptop and dismissed him for misconduct in April 2024. The firm also reported him to the SRA.

The regulator found his conduct was dishonest and sufficiently serious that it was “undesirable for him to be involved in legal practice” without its approval.

The Section 43 order means he cannot be employed or paid to work at an SRA-regulated law firm without the regulator's permission.

He was also ordered to pay £600 towards the SRA's costs.