Lewis MacDonald

Professional Discipline

Lewis appears before a number of regulatory bodies, most often in the legal, medical and sports law context. He appears before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, the accountancy regulators, Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (GMC), General Dental Council, General Pharmaceutical Council, General Osteopathic Council, General Optical Council, Nursing & Midwifery Council, and the British Horseracing Authority, most often acting for the regulated professional, although he also has experience acting for the regulator. His current and recent instructions include acting for a Partner in a big-four accountancy firm, the Head of Human Resources at Baker McKenzie, and a Partner at a US firm accused of dishonestly misleading the High Court.

He has acted in a number of medical cases involving complex expert evidence regarding the causation of patient deaths, and in cases involving allegations of dishonesty, and sexual misconduct against patients.

Lewis also represents professionals charged with criminal offences. He recently secured the acquittal of a foreign national carer accused of theft, where counter allegations of sexual misconduct were made by his client, and of an ex-police officer and teacher accused of threatening someone with a knife. He acted for an accountant accused of fraud where the majority of the prosecution allegations were withdrawn because of the exposure of major disclosure failings. He has advised and acted for professionals pre-charge, including making representations on pre-charge bail.

Current and recent work:

Lewis was instructed as junior counsel for one of the Respondents in the SRA proceedings against Baker McKenzie for sexual harassment by their Managing Partner in 2012, and the Firm’s Response to it. The hearing lasted 5 weeks, the resumption of which was undertaken by video-link during the Covid-19 pandemic in one of the first cases of its kind. All charges against Lewis’ client were found not proved.

He acted as sole counsel for Peter Gray, a partner at Gibson Dunn who was accused of dishonestly misleading the High Court whilst acting for the Republic of Djibouti in a freezing injunction application, before both the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and the High Court.

Lewis acted before the accountancy regulator as sole counsel for a partner at Ernst & Young who was accused of sexually inappropriate remarks towards a trainee. Lewis’ client received a fine after mitigation convinced the panel to resile from their position that they would have expelled him as an accountant, had they not been convinced the behaviour would never be repeated.

He represented Tom Morgan, an ex-Cheltenham Hunt winner, for betting irregularities before the British Horseracing Authority.

Lewis acted for a nurse who’s conduct had been found at the Inquest to have amounted to neglect and caused death. In the regulatory proceedings, Lewis’ cross-examination of expert witnesses revealed flaws in the evidence accepted by the Coroner, resulting in the panel finding no case to answer against his client.