The sentencing of former Hogan Lovells litigation partner Christopher Grierson has been delayed until later this month, after he pleaded guilty to defrauding the firm of £1.3m in false travel expenses.

Grierson's sentencing, which was expected to take place today (3 May) at Southwark Crown Court, has been postponed until 30 May as the result of a "defence request", according to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Grierson is being represented by QEB Hollis Whiteman's Mark Ellison QC.

He was charged by the City of London Police with four counts of false accounting in December last year, and was subsequently convicted at Southwark Crown Court this March on all four charges, covering 57 fraudulent travel claims worth £1.27m over just four years.

Grierson, who is best known for working on the high-profile BCCI litigation, was dismissed by Hogan Lovells on 11 May last year following an internal investigation led by the transatlantic firm's finance team.

The investigation uncovered evidence of more than £1m in irregular expenses claims made in just over four years running up to the end of December 2010.

Hogan Lovells reported the case to the Solicitors Regulation Authority later that month (13 May), with the regulator's investigation put on hold when the firm reported the case to the City of London Police in early June after Grierson repaid the money in full.

The news comes after a number of recent controversies involving City partners, including Ince & Co partner Andrew Iyer, who was struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal in February this year for fraud charges involving £3m of client money.