A lawyer who drove home from a Halloween party with cocaine and ecstasy in her system has told she won't be struck off.
Rachel Pickles was caught with the illegal substances after she was involved in a four-car crash while making a long drive home from Cornwall to London.
The solicitor claimed she simply took a 'tablet' at the party after she was told there was "nothing illegal in it".
She has dodged being thrown out of the profession and has been ordered to pay £12,500 instead.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal was told the woman qualified as a lawyer in September 2014 but at the time of the offending in October 2019 was working in event management.
London-based Pickles said she was planning on driving home following the Halloween Masked Ball event, but decided to stay for the staff after-party.
A tribunal report said: "Pickles did not drink at the after-event staff party, mindful that she had to drive to London the following day, but stated that she foolishly accepted a tablet following reassurances that there was 'nothing illegal in it'.
"The following morning Pickles felt fine but decided to defer the drive to London until 11am to ensure she was safe to drive.
"She had only passed her test a few months earlier. Pickles was involved in a four car collision when driving home.
"She was taken to hospital, where, when asked, Pickles alerted a nurse that she might have taken drugs, who in turn alerted the police who searched her belongings."
A breathalyser revealed Pickles had 96 micrograms of Benzoylecgonine per litre of blood in her system and 36 micrograms of Methylendioxynethamphetamine per litre of blood - the legal limit for both is 10.
Benzoylecgonine is the major metabolite of cocaine, while Methylendioxynethamphetamine is the chemical name for MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy.
Pickles was also found in possessions of 0.6 grams of cocaine, one gram of MDMA, and cannabis resin and 19 tablets of diazepam, also known as Valium.
Following the incident she appeared at Truro Magistrates' Court in Cornwall and was disqualified from driving after admitting all offences.
At the SDT, Pickles offered a 'sincere and genuine' apology and argued she should not lose her licence to practise as being a solicitor is a 'matter of immense pride' and fulfilled a 'long-held ambition'.
The panel said: "The tribunal considered the gravamen of the offending was driving whilst unfit to do so.
"That offence was aggravated by Pickles possession of cannabis, cocaine and MDMA, all of which were illegal substances."
The panel ruled a £10,000 fine and £2,500 costs was a 'sufficient sanction'.
It added: "The Solicitors Regulation Authority accepts that, in the circumstances of this matter, neither the protection of the public nor the protection of the reputation of the profession requires Pickles to be suspended from practise or struck off from the Roll of Solicitors."
