The Legal 500

Work Department

Criminal law and business crime.

Position

Wide range of criminal work, including business fraud, corruption, terrorism, homicide and fresh evidence appeals; specialises in white-collar and serious fraud (including SFO, FSA and HMRC/RCPO cases and those brought by other regulators in the field of business crime), particularly those involving professionals (solicitors and accountants) as defendants; represented defendant in Jubilee Line Extension prosecution and other substantial SFO and tax fraud cases; wide experience in complex regulatory cases (including FSA investigations); international and mutual assistance cases and extradition; regularly represents companies and individual directors in domestic and international corruption investigations; supervisor and member of the Serious Fraud Panel of approved solicitors for large-scale and international fraud cases; leader in human rights and international law cases (acted for Amnesty International in the Pinochet case); defending journalists in trouble ( including protection orders against journalists and newspapers; ex parte Malik); represented ‘sources’ and journalist defendants in Special Branch and Official Secrets Act cases, including Foreign Office official Derek Pasquill (acquitted of leaking material damaging to international relations) and Christopher Galley (Damien Green MP leak); expertise in the defence of Health and Safety prosecutions (represented Corus Group plc in relation to Port Talbot blast furnace explosion prosecution), particularly those involving fatalities; specialist in corporate manslaughter defence under the 2007 Act. Acted in the Israeli Embassy bombing case and IRA mortar attack on Heathrow Airport and representing defendants charged under the 2000 and 2001 Terrorism Acts; expertise in complex scientific evidence appeals such as the acquittal of Sion Jenkins after appeal and two retrials, and in computer and internet crime; regularly represents defendants in large-scale public order and demonstration arrests raising issues of freedom of assembly, free speech and police conduct; inquests, including deaths in police custody and judicial review; groundbreaking cases in the House of Lords (R v Doody & Others; R v Aziz & Others; R v English; R v Pinochet). Represented Lord Levy in the ‘cash for honours’ police investigation; advised individuals in the ‘proxy donors’ inquiry of donations to the Labour Party, and represented parliamentarians in the ‘cash for amendments’ and recent ‘expenses’ police investigations.

Career

Qualified 1985; Bindman & Partners (now Bindmans LLP) 1990, partner 1991; head of criminal law and business crime department.

Member

Serious Fraud Panel.

Education

Bristol University (1981 BSc Hons Biochemistry); College of Law (CPE and Law Society Finals).

Practice Areas

Crime - corporate; Crime - general; Fraud