Raoul Colvile > 4-5 Gray's Inn Square > London, England > Barrister Profile

Raoul Colvile

Position

Raoul has a broad based dispute resolution practice and significant experience of complex commercial civil litigation, white collar crime, and internal investigations, each regularly containing multi-jurisdictional elements.

He was called to the bar following nearly six years of practice at the London Office of a major US Law Firm where he qualified as a solicitor advocate.

Raoul’s civil litigation work has commonly included contractual disputes, matters arising from fraud, and the implementation of international asset recovery strategies. He has experience of ADR (including several detailed commercial settlements), arbitration, and the Chancery and Commercial Courts.

His white collar crime and investigative work has often involved high profile and sensitive matters. Highlights to date have included the Serious Fraud Office v. ICBC Standard Bank Plc UK Bribery Act matter, which culminated in the UK’s first ever Deferred Prosecution Agreement (“DPA”), as well as working for the joint administrators in respect of the collapse of British Homes Stores (“BHS”)). Since July 2017 he has been assisting the Serious Fraud Office with a major high profile investigation.

Raoul has advised companies and individuals both personally and as part of a team on a wide range of issues. He accepts instructions across a broad range of practice areas and is developing a Regulatory practice.

Raoul’s recent instructions include: (i) representations at the interim order, substantive hearing and substantive order review stages for the Nurses and Midwifery Council, (ii) representations in the High Court, Crown Court and County Court, (iii) the role of sole LPP counsel on a high profile matter for the Serious Fraud Office, (iv) assisting the Government Legal Department on a commercial dispute involving alleged violations of the European Convention of Human Rights, (v) a three month secondment to the Pension Protection Fund.

Career

Raoul has been involved with some of the most significant white collar cases of recent years. These include being part of the defence team in the matter which culminated in the UK’s first Deferred Prosecution Agreement (“DPA”) between the Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) and ICBC Standard Bank Plc in 2015, as well as acting for the SFO in 2020’s DPA with G4S Care & Justice Services (UK) Ltd*.

In 2020, Raoul was appointed as SFO Prosecution C Panel Counsel. He is currently instructed on a major fraud case due to go to trial in 2023.

In addition to his white collar work, Raoul also has material financial regulatory experience, having assisted the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) on three matters across 2019 and 2020, including in the role of lead investigator. These built upon his experience working as part of teams on a wide range of high profile matters, for example, advising the administrators following the collapse of British Home Stores.

Raoul’s commercial work has commonly included contractual disputes, matters arising from fraud, and the implementation of international asset recovery strategies. He has experience of ADR (including several detailed commercial settlements) and has advised companies and individuals on a broad spectrum of issues, often with multi-jurisdictional elements.

Raoul has appeared – both as sole and led counsel – in a variety of forums, including the High Court, County Court, Crown Court and before Regulatory and Disciplinary Tribunals (particularly concerning professional misconduct).

Given his background, Raoul is an excellent addition to any legal or investigative team. Clients have consistently commended Raoul’s ability to rapidly absorb detail and assist with the effective progression of complex litigation.

Education

• BA Hons, Philosophy and Theology, Hatfield College, Durham
• Graduate Diploma Law (BPP)
• Accelerated Legal Practice Course (BPP)
• Civil Higher Rights of Audience (COL)