Brooke
Middleton
Employee
7303561
Decision - Employee-related decision
Outcome: Control of non-qualified staff (Section 43 / Section 99 order)
Outcome date: 15 June 2026
Published date: 15 June 2026
Firm details
Firm or organisation at time of matters giving rise to outcome
Name: Eversage Associates Limited
Address(es): 33 Foley Street, LONDON, W1W 7TL
Firm ID: 812874
Firm or organisation at date of publication
Name: Andusia Holdings Limited
Address(es): 2 Centrus, Mead Lane, HERTFORD, SG13 7GX
Firm ID:
Outcome details
This outcome was reached by SRA decision.
Decision details
Who does this decision relate to?
Brooke Middleton, a person who is or was involved in a legal practice but is not a Solicitor, who was employed as a paralegal at Eversage Associates Limited , a recognised body located at 33 Foley Street, London W1W 7TL.
Summary of decision
The SRA has put restrictions on where and how Miss Middleton can work in an SRA regulated firm. It was found that Miss Middleton: acted dishonestly on 19 August 2025, when she told colleagues at the firm that she had sent an email relating to a client matter at 07.00 when she knew she had sent it at 08.45. She also amended the timestamp of the email in the firm's case management system from 08.45 to 07.00 to make it appear that she had sent it at 07.00 when she knew she had not.
The facts of the case
Miss Middleton was employed by the firm from 24 June 2024 until she was summarily dismissed on 20 August 2025.
Miss Middleton's responsibilities included sending an email at 07.00 to a Home Office Priority Service (HOPS) to secure a priority slot. This task was shared with others at the firm on a rotation basis.
On 18 August 2025, Miss Middleton was due to send the HOPS email at 07.00 but failed to do so. Later that morning she admitted her error to her colleagues.
On 19 August 2025, Miss Middleton was also due to send the HOPS email at 07.00. She realised at approximately 08.30 that she had again forgotten to do so. She sent the HOPS email at 08.45 but was aware that this was unlikely to be effective at securing a priority slot.
Two of Miss Middleton's colleagues sent her a message on Microsoft Teams asking if she had sent the email at 07.00. Miss Middleton replied to both colleagues confirming she had done so. She uploaded the HOPS email she had sent at 08.45 to the firm's case management system. However, she manually amended the time entry to show that the email was sent at 07.00 rather than 08.45.
Later that day, Miss Middleton's colleagues discovered that the HOPS email was not sent at 07.00. On 20 August 2025, Miss Middleton's employment at the firm was terminated for gross misconduct because of her dishonesty about when she sent the HOPS email. On 27 August 2025, the firm reported Miss Middleton's conduct to the SRA.
Decision on outcome
An order pursuant to section 43(2) of the Solicitors Act 1974 was made as Miss Middleton's conduct meant that it was undesirable for her to be involved in legal practice without the SRA's prior approval.
This was because of the serious nature of her conduct which was dishonest.
Miss Middleton was also ordered to pay the SRA's costs of £600.
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.