Lawyer refuses to serve Israeli client

From the Telegraph, photograph from XYZ Law

A lawyer has been accused of “blatant discrimination” after refusing to represent an Israeli client because it conflicted with his Muslim faith and his opposition to Israel.

Kassam Boota, a partner with XYZ Law Solicitors, told Nissim Malca, a 55-year-old mortgage adviser based in Leeds, that the firm would reassign his case to another solicitor.

Mr Boota has now been reported to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), which acts as a watchdog for all solicitors and law firms in England and Wales, which his lawyers say are in direct breach of equalities legislation.

Mr Malca, an Israeli national, had instructed XYZ Law in February 2024 to work on a remortgage and sale for himself before going on to instruct the firm on two other properties as part of his job.

In October, midway through the process, he mentioned to Mr Boota that he was in Israel for a family visit. Mr Boota, who has decorated his social media pages with the pro-Palestinian watermelon slice symbol, then told Mr Malca that he would no longer represent him.

Mr Malca told The Telegraph: “I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, I never experienced anything like that before and didn’t know how to react as it caught me by surprise. I felt humiliated and angry at the same time that a solicitor allowed himself to say that to me in the open, with no shame or worry about any consequences, as if it was a very normal and ok thing to do or say.”

UKLFI accused XYZ Law, which has offices in Manchester, Dewsbury and London, of allowing Mr Boota to discriminate against Mr Malca in breach of the Equality Act 2010.

The organisation argued that Mr Malca had a protected characteristic of race, religion or belief under the Act.

Mr Boota declined to comment when approached by The Telegraph. XYZ Law was also approached for comment.