I’ve been professionally embarrassed. Can I withdraw from a Crown Court case?

I’m representing a client privately in the Crown Court. Following my client’s instructions, I concluded that I’ve been professionally embarrassed and would like to withdraw from the case. Can I do that?

You may withdraw from acting for a client either during the trial or during preparation for trial where there are compelling reasons to do so.

You must decide if there are compelling reasons to withdraw and, if so, make an application to the court to come off the court record.

A compelling reason for withdrawal from a case would be if you have concluded that you’re professionally embarrassed by continuing to act.

Withdrawal should be in accordance with:

• the SRA Principles and Code of Conduct for Solicitors in the SRA Standards and Regulations 2019
• the professional obligations you owe to your client and/or to the court

This is to avoid breaching the code and to prevent risk of sanction by the court.

Examples of compelling reasons include:

• obligations to clients – where you’re acting for two defendants and a conflict of interest may arise
• obligations to the court – if a client changes instructions in such a manner that for you to continue would involve you misleading the court

For more information, see our practice note on withdrawing from a criminal case.