Business and regulatory crime (including global investigations) in London Bar

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Business And Regulatory Crime (including Global Investigations)

2 Bedford Row

Cloth Fair Chambers

Matrix Chambers

Three Raymond Buildings

Fountain Court Chambers

Leading Silks

Alex Bailin QC - Matrix Chambers ‘His former career as a trader gives him exceptional insight into cases involving market misconduct. His client handling skills are also first-rate.’

Michael Bowes QC - Outer Temple Chambers ‘A highly sophisticated silk.’

George Carter-Stephenson QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘A giant in his field and absolutely second to none. He combines meticulous and detailed preparation (leaving no stone unturned) with an utterly formidable presence in court. Judges listen to and respect him and he has a fantastic rapport with a jury. He is a joy to watch at work. His work ethic is unrivalled and he achieves success in cases which might at first appear hopeless.’

Christopher Coltart QC - 2 Hare Court ‘An engaging advocate with a devastating eye for detail. His approach to cases is to leave no stone unturned and he carries the confidence of clients from the very first meeting. A man you would definitely want in your corner.’

Adrian Darbishire QC - QEB Hollis Whiteman ‘Adrian is a class act. He is meticulous in his preparation, his written work is outstanding and his advocacy is faultless. When he speaks, the whole court listens.’

Mark Ellison QC - QEB Hollis Whiteman ‘A silk with very sound judgement. Intelligently persuasive.’

Jonathan Fisher QC - Red Lion Chambers ‘Extremely experienced in handling cases involving bribery and corruption.’

Patrick Gibbs QC - Three Raymond Buildings ‘He really does have that extra touch of magic. He manages to spin gold from mere threads with his wonderful advocacy.’

Neil Hawes QC - Crucible Chambers ‘He goes the extra mile for his clients. Extremely hard-working, tactically very astute, and very personable.’

Hugo Keith QC - Three Raymond Buildings ‘A commercially astute silk.’

John Kelsey-Fry QC - Cloth Fair Chambers ‘He works prodigiously, has a real sense from a very early stage for a winning strategy.’

Richard Lissack QC - Fountain Court Chambers ‘A superb advocate, hugely positive force and wonderful team player. A joy to work with.’

Hodge Malek QC - 3 Verulam Buildings ‘ Very experienced in prosecuting for the SFO.’

Clare Montgomery QC - Matrix Chambers ‘A silk at the pinnacle; precise, responsive, hugely knowledgeable and a delight to work with.’

Tim Owen QC - Matrix Chambers ‘A devastating cross-examiner. Excellent with clients and quickly establishes a relationship of trust and confidence with them.’

David Perry QC - 6KBW College Hill ‘A silk who is a class act.’

Nicholas Purnell QC - Cloth Fair Chambers ‘A consummate advisor and advocate.’

Mark Rainsford QC - 33 Chancery Lane ‘An expert in his field. He thinks outside of the box, tactically and strategically and this ensures fantastic results.’

Jim Sturman QC - 2 Bedford Row ‘A star performer in court.’

Ian Winter QC - Cloth Fair Chambers ‘Watching him in court is a real masterclass in advocacy.’

Tom Allen QC - Cloth Fair Chambers ‘A hardworking and very enthusiastic barrister.’

William Boyce QC - QEB Hollis Whiteman ‘A force of nature in advocacy. A master strategist and tactician.’

Graham Brodie QC - 33 Chancery Lane ‘Graham is an outstanding silk. A commanding advocate with a searing intellect. He is tenacious, tactically shrewd, and finds creative solutions to extremely complicated problems.’

Gideon Cammerman QC - 187 Fleet Street Chambers ‘A silk who is fierce in the defence of his clients. Gideon is one of the stars of his chambers.’

Sarah Clarke QC - Serjeants' Inn Chambers ‘Sarah is a powerhouse who should not be underestimated. A leader in the field on insider dealing. She is incredibly forensic and tactical, and has authority and composure both in court and on paper. Fantastic with judges and juries.’

Gillian Jones QC - Red Lion Chambers ‘A silk who is unafraid of a challenge.’

Jonathan Kinnear QC - 2 Hare Court ‘Hard as nails yet fair-minded. Extremely knowledgeable and responsive to the nuances in a case.’

Duncan Penny QC - 6KBW College Hill ‘He uses his precise eye for detail to excellent effect.’

Alison Pople QC - Cloth Fair Chambers ‘Incredibly hardworking and able to devastate the most difficult witnesses in cross-examination.’

Antony Shaw QC - Red Lion Chambers ‘An intellectual powerhouse.’

James Waddington QC - Foundry Chambers ‘An astute tactician and strategist. Extremely hard-working and very much on top of his brief.’

Sasha Wass QC - 6KBW College Hill ‘She is a master tactician.’

Brian Altman QC - 2 Bedford Row ‘A leader who cuts through to the essence of a case. When you instruct him, he inspires huge confidence. A true luminary. Above all, in heavy business and regulatory crime and investigatory cases, he is truly fearless.’

Jonathan Ashley-Norman QC - Three Raymond Buildings ‘He has great strategic vision. A hugely persuasive advocate and commands the respect of the court.’

Duncan Atkinson QC - 6KBW College Hill ‘He is a first-class advocate.’

Emma Deacon QC - 5 Paper Buildings ‘She quickly identifies and relentlessly pursues the important points of a case.’

Mark Fenhalls QC - 23 Essex Street 'A compelling advocate.'

Alexandra Healy QC - Foundry Chambers ‘Able to marshal large quantities of documents and information. Excellent team player and understands the overlapping areas of law - criminal, civil and regulatory, as well as the priorities and drivers for clients whether they are corporates or individuals.’

James Hines QC - Three Raymond Buildings ‘Urbane and very bright, with a commanding court presence.’

Brendan Kelly QC - 2 Hare Court ‘He is charming, but never one to shy away from a fight.’

Jonathan Laidlaw QC - 2 Hare Court ‘A master of understatement. Excellent with clients - empathetic to their situation but also able to give first-class, practical advice. Extremely calm under pressure.’

Sean Larkin QC - QEB Hollis Whiteman ‘An exceptionally persuasive and polished advocate, with laser-sharp focus and charisma.’

Alison Macdonald QC - Essex Court Chambers ‘An outstandingly bright silk. Methodical, clear and precise. She has great client care skills and the client is very happy to follow her sage advice.’

Mark Milliken-Smith QC - 2 Bedford Row ‘An outstanding silk.’

Paul Ozin QC - 23 Essex Street 'A silk with a meticulous eye for detail.'

Amanda Pinto QC - 33 Chancery Lane ‘She is a leader in every sense. Incisive, industrious, persuasive and formidable.’

Clare Sibson QC - Cloth Fair Chambers ‘Highly intelligent and discerning.’

Leonard Smith QC - Libertas Chambers ‘A true battler for every client and a masterful courtroom tactician.’

2019 Silks

Michael Goodwin QC - Red Lion Chambers ‘Clever, organised, calm and a class act in the courtroom.’

Nicola Howard QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘Her advice and approach to cases is measured and extremely thorough.’

Nicholas Medcroft QC - Fountain Court Chambers 'He is extremely personable, down to earth, but also has gravitas. His written submissions are well thought through and legally cogent.'

Richard Wormald QC - Three Raymond Buildings ‘A commanding advocate who brings life to an argument in front of a jury.’

2020 Silks

Robin Barclay QC - Fountain Court Chambers ‘A real lateral thinker.’

Jonathan Barnard QC - Cloth Fair Chambers ‘He has an excellent approach to strategic issues.’

Jennifer Carter-Manning QC - 7BR ‘Her advice is clear and reasoned; clients trust her.’

Allison Clare QC - Red Lion Chambers ‘She has an incisive mind and authoritative approach to cases.’

Jamas Hodivala QC - Matrix Chambers ‘A confident silk who has great client handling skills. His breadth of experience is also key to his ability to represent clients so completely.’

Tamara Oppenheimer QC - Fountain Court Chambers ‘She possesses outstanding legal knowledge.’

Paul Raudnitz QC - QEB Hollis Whiteman ‘He has impressive experience in handling SFO and FCA work.’

Leading Juniors

Ben Fitzgerald - QEB Hollis Whiteman ‘An intelligent and inventive thinker, who keeps his composure under pressure. Powerfully persuasive, with very sound depth of legal knowledge. Extremely personable with great attention to detail.’

Katherine Hardcastle - 6KBW College Hill ‘She is the complete package, combining exceptional legal knowledge and ability with a manner that allows her to win the confidence of team members, clients and opponents in equal measure; a star.’

Nathaniel Rudolf - 25 Bedford Row ‘He has a brilliant eye for detail. His knowledge of relevant law and procedural rules is second to none.’

Ben Summers - Three Raymond Buildings ‘He combines practicality with deep insight, making him a natural choice for difficult cases.’

Vivienne Tanchel - 2 Hare Court ‘Highly motivated, very hardworking and very intelligent. She ensures she is familiar with every aspect of a case.’

Rachel Barnes - Three Raymond Buildings ‘A discerning and analytical barrister who is able to see through the most complex legal issues.’

Eleanor Davison - Fountain Court Chambers ‘Pragmatic, meticulous and approachable. Rolls up sleeves and gets on with it. Great with clients and a good link in the team between solicitors and a QC on a case.’

Kathryn Arnot Drummond - Cloth Fair Chambers ‘A hardworking junior who gets on top of the details.’

Rachna Gokani - QEB Hollis Whiteman ‘She is extremely cerebral, diligent and innovative. She is bright, hardworking and really lives her cases. A joy to instruct.’

Nichola Higgins - Matrix Chambers ‘Nichola is phenomenally hard-working and fully commits to her cases. Her capacity to find the important points in a case is brilliant to witness.’

Miranda Hill - 6KBW College Hill ‘She has a turbo brain.’

Rachel Kapila - Cloth Fair Chambers ‘Her work ethic is second to none.’

Jason Mansell - QEB Hollis Whiteman ‘He has a deep understanding of the law in this area and combines intelligence with commercial savvy.’

Peter Ratliff - 6KBW College Hill ‘A very impressive junior.’

Simon Ray - 6KBW College Hill ‘His advice is pragmatic, and he has a great manner with clients.’

Trevor Archer - Red Lion Chambers ‘Calm, hardworking, and well prepared.’

Faras Baloch - Red Lion Chambers ‘He can hold his own against silks.’

Stuart Biggs - Three Raymond Buildings ‘Very bright, hardworking and able to charm a jury. Stuart has a brilliant grasp of the issues of the case. Very calm and persuasive but when necessary a hard-hitting advocate.’

Tom Broomfield - QEB Hollis Whiteman ‘Fantastic on both the details and the bigger picture. Hardworking and confident in court.’

Thomas Daniel - 2 Bedford Row ‘A fantastic asset to have on your team. An extraordinary strategist. A super-talented lawyer; a star.’

Tom Doble - QEB Hollis Whiteman ‘A junior who exudes gravitas and judgement well beyond his year of call. A strategic thinker who works incredibly hard.’

Christopher Foulkes - 2 Hare Court ‘He masters and marshals large quantities of materials quickly.’

Ben Isaacs - 7BR ‘A brilliant, fierce court performer. He has excellent analytical and advisory skills, and clients like him.’

Duncan Jones - 25 Bedford Row ‘An unbelievably hard worker with total mastery of the papers. He can see the wood for the trees. Excellent client care skills.’

Timothy Kendal - 2 Bedford Row ‘He has an incredible brain.’

Helen Law - Matrix Chambers ‘Clinical and decisive; clients love her.’

Jocelyn Ledward - QEB Hollis Whiteman ‘She has an incredible work ethic and a formidable intellect.’

Dominic Lewis - 5 Paper Buildings ‘He is unflappable, and quickly gains his clients' confidence. He has a sound approach to case strategy. An industrious and incisive barrister.’

Oliver Powell - Outer Temple Chambers ‘He has a very analytical eye, and communicates well with clients. Very hard-working and diligent.’

Leonora Sagan - Fountain Court Chambers ‘She has a sharp, systematic mind and deep knowledge of her area.’

Esther Schutzer-Weissmann - 6KBW College Hill ‘Passionate and dedicated; a fierce advocate.’

David Stern - 5 St Andrews Hill ‘He has a first-class brain and is able to quickly identify the critical issues in complex cases. He has the ability to win any jury with exceptional advocacy skills.’

Aaron Watkins - Cloth Fair Chambers ‘Excellent drafting skills for complicated matters.’

The Business and regulatory crime (including global investigations) rankings includes instructions relating to bribery, sanctions, interest-rate rigging, criminal cartel offences, trade union redundancy offences, and similar. It does not cover fraud cases such as land-banking scams and VAT fraud (please see the Fraud: crime section for coverage of this specialism). International crime and extradition and POCA and asset forfeiture are also covered separately. That said, many barristers are likely to have practices that do not neatly fit within these boxes and so may be ranked in more than one practice area.

Tier 1 sets

2 Bedford Row

In the words of one client, 2 Bedford Row is a 'first choice for white-collar crime'. The set houses a team with an established track record acting in prominent cases involving multi-jurisdictional bribery and corruption, and are also instructed in Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigations. In the junior ranks, Thomas Daniel is acting for the SFO in the long-running investigation concerning Serco’s electronic monitoring contract with the Ministry of Justice; in December 2019, two former directors of Serco were charged with fraud by false representation and false accounting.

Cloth Fair Chambers

Business crime forms a core area of Cloth Fair Chambers' expertise; the set houses a team adept at handling cases involving bribery, corruption, and SFO investigations. Members of the set continue to act in the longrunning Barclays trial concerning its 2008 fundraising from Qatari investors. In February 2020, John Kelsey-Fry QC and new silk Jonathan Barnard QC represented Roger Jenkins, the former Head of Investment Banking in the Middle East, while Ian Winter QC acted for Tom Kalaris, the former Head of Wealth and Investment Management, in the SFO investigation concerning alleged bribery and corruption offences; both defendants were acquitted of all charges.

Matrix Chambers

Viewed as 'a stellar set' with 'a depth of talent' by instructing solicitors, Matrix Chambers' members have been kept busy handling corruption and bribery cases, and are also active in SFO investigations. The set is noted for its particular strength in representing high-net-worth individuals in business crime matters. Recent highlights include the 'very responsive and strategic' Alex Bailin QC acting in the high-profile Credit Suisse "tuna bonds" bribery case worth $2bn. In 2020, Jamas Hodivala QC was elevated to silk.

Three Raymond Buildings

'Stellar set' Three Raymond Buildings houses 'top-class counsel at all levels', well known for their extensive expertise in sanctions matters, insider trading, SFO investigations and high-profile bribery and corruption cases, to name a few areas. Hugo Keith QC represented Airbus in its investigation by the SFO concerning allegations of bribery and corruption; in January 2020 Airbus entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the SFO and agreed to pay a fine of €1bn.

Tier 2 sets

2 Hare Court

2 Hare Court is 'a quality set' with 'very good strength in depth' and 'a lot of talented people at all levels'. Financial crime cases form the backbone of the team's workload. Recent highlights include Jonathan Kinnear QC successfully representing the SFO in the prosecution of David Lufkin, a former senior executive of Petrofrac, as part of its ongoing investigation into Petrofrac; Lufkin was convicted of paying bribes in order to win contracts worth over $730m in Saudi Arabia and $3.5bn in Iraq.

6KBW College Hill

6KBW College Hill's members are adept at prosecuting and defending cases involving SFO investigations, corruption, and international bribery cases. Duncan Penny QC and Simon Ray are acting for Paul Careless, the former executive of Surge Financial, in an SFO investigation following the insolvency of London Capital & Finance in February 2019; Surge Financial marketed bonds for the company, which owed £237m to over 11,000 investors at the time of its collapse.

QEB Hollis Whiteman

The 'excellent' QEB Hollis Whiteman has 'great strength in depth', with a team of 'bright and dedicated lawyers'. Recent highlights for the set include the 'tenacious' Adrian Darbishire QC successfully defending Rapid Engineering against allegations of bribery and failure to prevent bribery under section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010; this marked the first acquittal of a corporate defendant for a section 7 offence. Elsewhere, the 'very smooth' Sean Larkin QC and new silk Paul Raudnitz QC acted for the SFO in R v Sorby, Leek and Justice, concerning the prosecution of three directors following allegations of historic bribery via agents abroad in order to secure contracts.

Red Lion Chambers

Red Lion Chambers' members defend and prosecute across a spectrum of business crime matters, with recent instructions involving SFO investigations, bribery, and corruption cases. Michael Goodwin QC appeared in SFO v Serco Geografix Ltd, regarding the SFO's investigation into the company concerning alleged corporate fraud; in July 2019 Serco Geografix entered into a deferred prosecution agreement and received a £22m fine. In March 2020 Allison Clare QC took silk strengthening chambers at the senior end.

Tier 3 sets

25 Bedford Row

25 Bedford Row has established strength in financial crime cases, and in this space, Nicola Howard QC continues to act in a case concerning the alleged defrauding of $180m from a Russian banking group via fraudulent trades in emerging markets warrants, which spans over 20 jurisdictions. In another example, Nathaniel Rudolf is instructed as leading junior counsel in R v Pagliara, a case concerning allegations of bribery regarding the taking of 'bungs' in professional football.

33 Chancery Lane

Viewed as 'a go-to set for cases with a strong proceeds of crime element', 33 Chancery Lane is also 'extremely strong on business crime'; members act for companies and individuals in SFO investigations and corruption cases. The 'superb' Amanda Pinto QC, recently appointed Chair of the Bar, is 'an impressive, strategic, and focused leader' who 'oozes charm and gravitas'; 'nothing escapes her notice or her consideration'.

Fountain Court Chambers

At Fountain Court Chambers, Richard Lissack QC is representing the CFO of software company Autonomy in the ongoing case concerning allegations of corporate fraud brought against the company by the SFO and the FRC in the UK, as well as the Department of Justice in the USA, relating to the $8bn sale of Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard. Strengthening the team on the senior end, 2020 saw Robin Barclay QC (described as 'very proactive and hardworking') and Tamara Oppenheimer QC (who 'expresses opinions succinctly and with clarity') be elevated silk.

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