Andrew Milne

Introduction

Andrew Milne is a London solicitor, admitted in 1986, whose conviction for stalking a legal blogger and the disciplinary case built on it have put his four-decade career at risk. In February 2026 he was convicted at Stratford Magistrates Court of stalking Daniel Cloake, the writer behind the blog Mouse in the Court, and was sentenced to a two-year community order with a seven-year prohibition on contacting Cloake. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT), which hears misconduct allegations against solicitors, must now decide what follows from that conviction. When Milne asked the tribunal to pause its proceedings while he appeals, the panel deliberated for 45 minutes and refused, ruling that the case must proceed.

Background Information

Milne was admitted as a solicitor in 1986 and, by the time of the tribunal hearing, practised as a sole practitioner from London. The subject of the stalking conviction, Daniel Cloake, writes a blog entitled Mouse in the Court. The allegation put before the tribunal is that between March and August 2024 Milne pursued a course of conduct which amounted to the stalking of Cloake. In February 2026, Stratford Magistrates Court convicted Milne of stalking and sentenced him to a two-year community order, and he was ordered not to contact Cloake for seven years; he is appealing the conviction, with the first hearing of his criminal appeal due on 21 September 2026.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Adjudicated vs. alleged. Milne’s February 2026 stalking conviction at Stratford Magistrates Court is a matter of court record, but he is appealing it and maintains the conviction should not stand; that appeal is pending. The disciplinary allegation rests on the conviction, and the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has made no findings of its own. Until the appeal and the tribunal’s substantive hearing run their course, the criminal basis of the case remains contested rather than settled.

The controversy has two linked parts: the criminal case and the regulatory case that followed it. The criminal case concerned Milne’s conduct toward Cloake between March and August 2024, which the magistrates’ court found amounted to a course of conduct constituting stalking. The conviction in February 2026 brought a two-year community order and a seven-year no-contact order.

The regulatory case then opened a second front. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) put the matter before the SDT on an allegation that, between March and August 2024, Milne pursued a course of conduct amounting to the stalking of Cloake — the same course of conduct on which the criminal conviction was founded.

Rather than face that hearing, Milne first asked the tribunal to stay the proceedings until his appeal was over. Appearing before the panel on 2 September 2026, he argued that it would be “completely unworkable” for disciplinary proceedings to go ahead while he is appealing the conviction on which the allegation is based. There was, he said, no rule placing a mandatory obligation on the tribunal to go “rushing” into something where the factual matrix could yet collapse; he described the appeal as the “elephant in the room” and urged the tribunal to behave as the High Court would, by pausing proceedings.

For the regulator, Louise Culleton did not dispute what would follow if the appeal succeeded: if the conviction was subsequently quashed, then matters could be revoked. Her submission was that the rules set out a clear framework for how the tribunal could proceed in the meantime.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The tribunal sided with the regulator. After deliberating for 45 minutes, the panel returned with its decision to allow proceedings to continue, declining to wait for the appeal. Panel chair James Johnston added: “Letting it sit there in inertia awaiting a possible date is not something we are going to do.”

The consequence is that Milne’s case now runs on two tracks at once. On the criminal track, he remains subject to the community order and the seven-year prohibition on contacting Cloake, while his appeal proceeds, its first hearing having been due on 21 September 2026. On the regulatory track, the SDT has set a case management hearing for 11 November 2026 to decide further details, followed by a three-day substantive hearing beginning on 5 April 2027.

Current Status

Milne’s stalking conviction stands and his sentence remains in force, but the conviction is under appeal, with the first hearing of the appeal having been listed for 21 September 2026. His disciplinary proceedings are likewise live: the stay application was refused on 2 September 2026, and the tribunal is working toward the substantive hearing set for 5 April 2027, with case management on 11 November 2026. No forum has reached a final outcome. If the appeal succeeds and the conviction is quashed, the SRA has said the disciplinary matters could be revoked; if it does not, the tribunal will go on to determine the allegation at the April 2027 hearing.

Impact on Their Career/Life

For a solicitor of four decades’ standing who practises alone, the dual proceedings are a direct threat to his livelihood and professional standing. The criminal sentence itself — a two-year community order and a seven-year order not to contact Cloake — constrains Milne’s life outside work, and the conviction’s subject matter, the stalking of a legal blogger, has been aired in the legal press. Professionally, the SDT case will proceed whether or not he is ready: the panel has fixed hearing dates through April 2027, and the allegation’s foundation is the very conviction he is trying to overturn. The stakes run in both directions. A successful appeal could remove the case’s factual basis, since the SRA accepts the matters could be revoked if the conviction is quashed; a failed appeal leaves him facing a substantive misconduct hearing on the strength of a criminal conviction. The Gazette’s report does not indicate any interim restriction on his practising status, so he remains in practice as the case proceeds.

Sources

• Law Gazette, “Milne SDT case to proceed despite conviction appeal,” Sep 2, 2026 — source