About this case

Case name

Nicola Simone Cannon v The Council of the Law Society of Scotland

Case reference number

P648/25

Date of hearing

Tuesday 3 February 2026

Time of hearing

10:30 to 13:00 then 14:00 until conclusion

Division

Second Division

Judges

• Lord Justice Clerk
• Lord Malcolm
• Lord Armstrong

Agents and Counsel

For the Petitioner (Nicola Simone Cannon)

• Agents: Drummond Miller LLP
• Counsel: David Cobb

For the Respondents (The Council of the Law Society of Scotland)

• Agents: Balfour + Manson LLP
• Counsel: Rachel Breen

Case description

[1]    The petitioner is a solicitor and the nominated Money Laundering Reporting Officer for the law firm Cannons Law Practice LLP. Between July 2022 and March 2024 the respondent, the Law Society of Scotland, raised a complaint to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission in respect of the petitioner’s failure to submit a Money Laundering Certificate in accordance with her professional obligations. The Commission accepted the complaint as suitable for investigation and referred the case back to the Law Society for investigation. On 8 August 2024, the Law Society Professional Conduct Sub-Committee determined that the petitioner’s conduct amounted to unsatisfactory professional conduct. It accordingly censured the petitioner and imposed a fine in the sum of £800.00. In September 2024 the petitioner appealed to the Scottish Solicitors’ Discipline Tribunal. Her appeal was refused by the Tribunal on 14 March 2025.

[2]    The petitioner’s position is that she was recovering from injuries sustained in a serious skiing accident during the period the Money Laundering Certificate required to be submitted. In appealing against the decision of the Tribunal she argues:

i.    That the Law Society had no statutory power to raise a complaint to the Commission. 
ii.    That the sanctions imposed on her were disproportionate and amount to contraventions of her rights as guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; and
iii.    That the Tribunal acted unreasonably in refusing the appeal in the whole circumstances of the case.

[3]    The Second Division of the Inner House will hear the Petition and Answers on Tuesday 3 February 2025 at 10:30am.