A DAC Beachcroft litigation executive has been banned from legal practice after the SRA found he had "misled" a client and "falsified documents".

An SRA ruling last week found that Brendan Ferris, a litigation executive at the firm between 2009 and 2014, had "misled" a client in relation to court proceedings, specifically the service of two claim forms, and also misinformed them as to "whether an enquiry agent had been engaged" on another matter.

As a result, the SRA ruled that no solicitor or recognised body shall be allowed to employ Ferris, who is not a solicitor himself, in the future. Ferris was also given a written rebuke by the regulatory body.

Ferris was dismissed by DAC last October after an internal investigation by the firm. He had been employed at the firm's Bristol office since April 2009.

In a statement, DAC said the firm now "considers this matter closed".

The decision is the latest involving a conduct issue at a top 50 firm handed down by the SRA.

Last month, Fieldfisher commercial intellectual property partner Michael Harte was referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) after receiving a criminal conviction at Barnsley Magistrates Court.

In October, an Irwin Mitchell paralegal was banned from legal practice without prior approval by the SRA after fabricating correspondence with clients and informing them that they would receive a higher compensation award than was agreed to.

The regulator also removed itself as a signatory to the Graduate Recruitment Code last week, allowing law firms to recruit trainees before their final year of undergraduate study.