Mariam El-Sobky
Introduction
Mariam El-Sobky, a barrister called to the bar in 2001, was disbarred by an independent disciplinary tribunal of the Bar Tribunals and Adjudication Service after findings spanning three misconduct cases: she secretly recorded court hearings in family proceedings on at least three occasions and sent the recordings to her employees for transcription, harassed a former employee by mocking her confidential mental health issues in a WhatsApp group chat, and recklessly misled the Family Court by filing documents purporting to carry her client’s authority without the client’s knowledge. The case was reported by Legal Cheek, Today’s Family Lawyer and Lawyers Weekly in August and September 2026.
Background Information
El-Sobky had twenty-five years’ standing at the bar when the tribunal heard the three cases against her. The recording findings concerned family court hearings between March and December 2021, where — without the consent of the parties or the judge, and knowing she was not lawfully entitled to do so — she made audio recordings of proceedings on at least three separate occasions. Recording court proceedings without permission is prohibited in UK courts; in family proceedings, where the welfare of children and the privacy of families are at stake, the rule is treated as fundamental to the administration of justice. El-Sobky then sent the recordings by WhatsApp to individuals employed by her, asking for them to be transcribed.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Tribunal findings, subject to appeal. The disbarment and the findings below are outcomes of the Bar Tribunals and Adjudication Service. The reporting notes the findings are subject to appeal.
The tribunal found that in making and distributing the secret recordings El-Sobky had failed to observe her duty to the court in the administration of justice, failed to act with integrity, behaved in a way likely to diminish the trust and confidence the public places in the profession, and behaved in a manner that could reasonably be seen by the public to undermine her integrity. In one of the cases it also found she had made dishonest and/or misleading statements to the court and so acted without honesty and integrity.
The harassment findings concerned a former employee. El-Sobky sent messages to a WhatsApp group chat that related to, and sought to make fun of, the employee’s confidential mental health issues — including: “best place for you I think is a mental asylum. No access to internet or Wi-Fi and restraints lol” and “a very sick young lady”. The tribunal found this amounted to harassment. In the same case it found she had also breached client confidentiality by sending appeal papers to the personal email address of an individual employed by her to carry out work on the case, without first asking that individual to sign a confidentiality agreement.
In a third case, the tribunal found El-Sobky recklessly misled or attempted to mislead the Family Court by submitting applications and documents purporting to have been sent on behalf of her client, without the client’s knowledge, instructions or approval — filings that put words and positions into a litigant’s mouth that the litigant had never authorised.
Across the cases, the tribunal found breaches of the duty to the court, of integrity and of honesty, and conduct likely to diminish public trust in the profession.
Public Reaction and Consequences
The Bar Standards Board, which prosecutes barrister misconduct, said after the ruling: “Ms El-Sobky failed to observe her duty to the court in the administration of justice. This behaviour falls far below the standards the public rightly expect of barristers. The decision to disbar reflects the seriousness of the misconduct in this case.” The tribunal ordered disbarment and costs of £7,226.44. Legal trade press — Legal Cheek, Today’s Family Lawyer and Lawyers Weekly — covered the outcome in August and September 2026, with headlines focusing on the secret recordings and the mental-health mocking in the group chat.
Current Status
El-Sobky is disbarred. One report described the disbarment’s practical effect as suspension from practice, with any return to practice dependent on providing satisfactory proof of capacity to practise via a BSB-approved mental health professional — language that tracks the tribunal’s sanction provisions. All findings are subject to appeal; the published record does not state whether an appeal has been lodged.
Impact on Their Career/Life
Disbarment removes El-Sobky from the roll of practising barristers, ending a career of more than two decades, and the findings span three separate dimensions of professional failure: candour to courts (secret recordings and unauthorised filings), integrity (dishonest statements), and basic decency toward a junior (the harassment findings). The mocked employee’s confidential mental health information, shared for sport in a group chat, made the harassment findings the emotional centre of the coverage; the secret family-court recordings made the disbarment legally unavoidable. Costs of £7,226.44 were ordered on top. Any return to practice would require the regulator to be satisfied of her capacity through the route described in the tribunal’s sanction.
Sources
- *Today’s Family Lawyer, “Barrister disbarred for secretly recording family proceedings,” Sep 2026 — source
- *Legal Cheek, “Barrister disbarred after secretly recording family court hearings,” Aug 2026 — source
- *Lawyers Weekly, “Barrister disbarred after mocking former employee’s mental health,” Sep 2026 — source