In-house lawyers facing a dilemma about whether to report themselves to the regulator should record their decision-making to see off any future allegations, a regulatory specialist has advised.

Andrew Pavlovic, a partner with London firm CM Murray, said practitioners need to be able to show their working if they have decided not to self-report. His analysis came following a case in which an in-house solicitor was fined £15,000 by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal for using inappropriate, unprofessional and rude nicknames for colleagues.