A former DLA Piper associate has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) and asked to pay £6,000 in costs after admitting to fabricating her qualifications.

Tania Bains joined DLA in September 2015 as an associate in the finance and projects team, after completing a two-year training contract with Liverpool-headquartered Weightmans. She had previously taken a summer vacation placement with the regional firm.

Weightmans found a number of inconsistencies on her CV after she left for DLA, prompting an internal investigation that resulted in the firm reporting its concerns to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). DLA then suspended Bains and also reported her to the SRA, with Bains resigning from the firm before DLA's internal disciplinary proceedings concluded.

During the course of SDT hearings held in January and May this year, Weightmans corporate partner Gary Jones gave evidence, in which he alleged that Bains' CV was  "largely a 'cut and paste of other people's experience'".  He added that her claimed banking experience was "wholly inaccurate".

Bains was found to have falsified both subjects studied during her degree at the University of Wales and the grades she achieved during both her application for the Weightmans' training contract and for the role at DLA. Examples of subjects Bains falsely claimed to have studied include competition law and company law.

In her defence, Bains claimed that she had submitted her application for a Weightmans' training contract in the "mid-afternoon" on the final day applications were being accepted. She said that "there was nobody at home to check her records for her", meaning that she guessed her results for individual university modules. She maintained that she had "never knowingly [...] acted dishonestly".

In relation to her application to DLA, Bains admitted that there was a level of "stretching on a CV to make it sound bumped up or impressive", adding that her CV "read better than the competition" because she had used a partner's CV as a template. However, she admitted there were aspects of her CV included "at a stretch".

The tribunal found that her conduct has been "deliberate, calculated and repeated", adding that she had concealed her behaviour from both Weightmans and DLA, breaching her obligation to "protect the public and the reputation of the legal profession".

It also noted that despite her inexperience, she had been working at Weightmans for two years when she submitted her application to DLA, meaning she had an "understanding of the legal environment".

The tribunal decided that a suspension would not be appropriate as it was not confident that the misconduct would not be repeated.

A DLA Piper spokesperson said: "Ms Bains left our firm in February 2016, a few months after she joined, following an internal investigation into this matter. Whilst regrettable for the individual concerned, we fully respect the decision of the SDT."

A Weightmans spokesperson added: "Tania Bains worked for Weightmans between 2013 and 2015. In line with our values of diligence and integrity, and in compliance with our regulatory obligations, we disclosed concerns regarding Ms Bains to the SRA. The hearing and outcome remain a matter for the SRA to comment further."