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

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Business And Regulatory Crime (including Global Investigations) - Leading Sets

2 Bedford Row

Cloth Fair Chambers

Matrix Chambers

Three Raymond Buildings

Fountain Court Chambers

Leading Silks

Michael Bowes QC - Outer Temple Chambers ‘ A top-drawer barrister; he combines an approachable demeanour with a strong intellect. ’

Alexander Cameron QC - Three Raymond Buildings ‘ His easy-going charm disguises a rapier-sharp mind. ’

George Carter-Stephenson QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ A powerhouse of knowledge; he combines a practical approach with a Rolls-Royce service. ’

William Clegg QC - 2 Bedford Row ‘ A maestro of advocacy. ’

Christopher Coltart QC - 2 Hare Court ‘ A high-quality silk who has great client handling skills. ’

Adrian Darbishire QC - QEB Hollis Whiteman ‘ A truly great silk, demonstrating impressive legal knowledge, a relentless work ethic and top-class courtroom advocacy. ’

Mark Ellison QC - QEB Hollis Whiteman ‘ A class act with a fantastic legal brain; judges love him. ’

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

Patrick Gibbs QC - Three Raymond Buildings ‘ A subtle and exceptional cross-examiner. ’

Neil Hawes QC - Charter Chambers ‘ His ability to absorb, retain and analyse huge amounts of information is staggering. ’

Hugo Keith QC - Three Raymond Buildings ‘ He is always well prepared - a silk who delivers results. ’

John Kelsey-Fry QC - Cloth Fair Chambers ‘ The breadth of his lateral thinking is astonishing. ’

Richard Lissack QC - Fountain Court Chambers ‘ He is an exceptional lawyer, willing to confront received wisdom with energy and forensic finesse. ’

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

Clare Montgomery QC - Matrix Chambers ‘ Terrifyingly bright; she commands the respect of the Bar and the bench. ’

Tim Owen QC - Matrix Chambers ‘ Incredibly bright and an utterly tenacious advocate. ’

David Perry QC - 6KBW COLLEGE HILL ‘ He is cerebral and relishes a debate. ’

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

Mark Rainsford QC - 33 Chancery Lane ‘ Exceptionally hardworking with an instinctive approach to cases. ’

Jim Sturman QC - 2 Bedford Row ‘ Corporate clients love his ability to cut straight to the heart of a matter. ’

Ian Winter QC - Cloth Fair Chambers ‘ He cross-examines like a ninja. ’

Tom Allen QC - Cloth Fair Chambers ‘ In the courtroom he fights his corner fearlessly, with a winning touch of charm and wit. ’

Alex Bailin QC - Matrix Chambers ‘ An accomplished and compelling advocate. ’

William Boyce QC - QEB Hollis Whiteman ‘ He combines a warm and solicitous bedside manner with a razor-sharp intellect. ’

Graham Brodie QC - 33 Chancery Lane ‘ An advocate with great gravitas. ’

Gideon Cammerman QC - 187 Fleet Street Chambers ‘ A ferocious advocate with an eye on the end game. ’

Sarah Clarke QC - Serjeants' Inn Chambers ‘ Hard as nails in the court room where her advocacy shines; what she doesn't know about insider trading isn't worth knowing. ’

Peter Finnigan QC - QEB Hollis Whiteman ‘ A shrewd lawyer; his composed manner conceals steely determination. ’

Gillian Jones QC - Red Lion Chambers ‘ A steely advocate. ’

Jonathan Kinnear QC - 2 Hare Court ‘ Highly experienced in handling large-scale bribery and corruption cases. ’

Duncan Penny QC - 6KBW COLLEGE HILL ‘ His advocacy and manner with clients is superb. ’

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 ‘ He has a cool and poised head and bags of experience. ’

James Waddington QC - Foundry Chambers ‘ An advocate with the art of making the difficult look straightforward. ’

Sasha Wass QC - 6KBW COLLEGE HILL ‘ A master tactician. ’

Brian Altman QC - 2 Bedford Row ‘ He has an incredible legal and tactical brain. ’

Jonathan Ashley-Norman QC - Three Raymond Buildings ‘ Erudite and thorough. ’

Duncan Atkinson QC - 6KBW COLLEGE HILL ‘ A first-class advocate. ’

Julian Christopher QC - 5 Paper Buildings ‘ Very well known for handling high-profile bribery cases. ’

Emma Deacon QC - 5 Paper Buildings ‘ A ferocious cross-examiner. ’

Mark Fenhalls QC - 23 Essex Street ‘ His work includes significant SFO cases. ’

Alexandra Healy QC - Foundry Chambers ‘ A silk of considerable intellect; she has a quick and incisive mind. ’

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

Brendan Kelly QC - 2 Hare Court ‘ Judges trust his judgement, and juries love his cross-examinations. ’

Jonathan Laidlaw QC - 2 Hare Court ‘ A very smooth and hardworking silk. ’

Sean Larkin QC - QEB Hollis Whiteman ‘ His empathetic and imperturbable manner puts people at ease. ’

Alison Macdonald QC - Matrix Chambers ‘ She is incredibly bright and comes up with innovative solutions at every turn. ’

Mark Milliken-Smith QC - 2 Bedford Row ‘ He has enormous experience of corporate and regulatory cases. ’

Andrew Mitchell QC - 33 Chancery Lane ‘ A very user-friendly silk. ’

Paul Ozin QC - 23 Essex Street ‘ Highly experienced across a range of financial crime cases. ’

Amanda Pinto QC - 33 Chancery Lane ‘ A heavyweight advocate. ’

John Ryder QC - 6KBW COLLEGE HILL ‘ A charming silk who is a devastatingly effective cross-examiner. ’

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

Leonard Smith QC - Carmelite Chambers ‘ Well known for his expertise in corruption and bribery matters. ’

David Spens QC - QEB Hollis Whiteman ‘ A very good performer. ’

2018 Silks

Adrian Eissa QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ He is extremely hardworking and a very safe pair of hands. ’

Tom Forster QC - Red Lion Chambers ‘ He thrives on analysing and distilling expert evidence. ’

2019 Silks

Timothy Cray QC - 6KBW COLLEGE HILL ‘ Very experienced in handling SFO work. ’

Nicola Howard QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ She is a calm and confident advocate. ’

Nicholas Medcroft QC - Fountain Court Chambers ‘ A clear thinker and a delight to work with. ’

Alison Morgan QC - 6KBW COLLEGE HILL ‘ She is a force to be reckoned with. ’

Leading Juniors

Robin Barclay - Fountain Court Chambers ‘ A class act with the brain of a commercial silk and the court-craft of a criminal one. ’

Jonathan Barnard - Cloth Fair Chambers ‘ He is a silk in waiting. ’

Nathaniel Rudolf - 25 Bedford Row ‘ He has a formidable intellect. ’

Ben Summers - Three Raymond Buildings ‘ A very smooth and rounded advocate, liked by judges and juries. ’

Vivienne Tanchel - 2 Hare Court ‘ She is a talented advocate. ’

Rachel Barnes - Three Raymond Buildings ‘ Well known for her expertise in sanctions law. ’

Eleanor Davison - Fountain Court Chambers ‘ Well prepared, thoughtful and personable. ’

Kathryn Arnot Drummond - Cloth Fair Chambers ‘ She combines excellent attention to detail with a great client manner. ’

Ben Fitzgerald - QEB Hollis Whiteman ‘ He has the ear of judges, yet is unafraid to stand up to them. ’

Rachna Gokani - QEB Hollis Whiteman ‘ Intelligent and insightful; a star at the junior Bar. ’

Katherine Hardcastle - 6KBW COLLEGE HILL ‘ Recommended for cases involving corporate clients. ’

Nichola Higgins - Doughty Street Chambers ‘ A thorough and incisive junior barrister. ’

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 great insight and pitch-perfect instincts. ’

Peter Ratliff - 6KBW COLLEGE HILL ‘ He prepares well, and has a meticulous eye. ’

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

Mark Aldred - QEB Hollis Whiteman ‘ He is an accomplished strategist. ’

Trevor Archer - Red Lion Chambers ‘ He has a keen mind and an attractive advocacy style. ’

Max Baines - Red Lion Chambers ‘ Intelligent, perceptive and diligent. ’

Faras Baloch - Red Lion Chambers ‘ His cross-examination is calm, courteous and difficult to resist. ’

Tom Broomfield - QEB Hollis Whiteman ‘ A persuasive advocate in writing and on his feet. ’

Jennifer Carter-Manning - 7BR ‘ A very talented senior junior. ’

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

Christopher Convey - 33 Chancery Lane ‘ Diligent and client-focused. ’

Tom Doble - QEB Hollis Whiteman ‘ Self-possessed, cerebral and very user-friendly. ’

Christopher Foulkes - 2 Hare Court ‘ An unflappable junior. ’

Ben Isaacs - 7BR ‘ He has excellent analytical skills. ’

Duncan Jones - 25 Bedford Row ‘ He is personable with clients and calm in a crisis. ’

Timothy Kendal - 2 Bedford Row ‘ A junior who is as good as any silk. ’

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 ‘ A safe pair of hands. ’

Tamara Oppenheimer - Fountain Court Chambers ‘ A junior with a great legal mind. ’

Oliver Powell - Outer Temple Chambers ‘ Very responsive and measured, and prepares well for cases. ’

Catherine Rabaiotti - 5 Paper Buildings ‘ Talented, bright, and beautifully cutting at the right moments. ’

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

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

David Stern - 5 St Andrews Hill ‘ A sure hand with complex legal arguments. ’

Aaron Watkins - Cloth Fair Chambers ‘ A dextrous junior. ’

Janet Weeks - 5 Paper Buildings ‘ Her practice includes insider dealing cases. ’

Tier 0 firms

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 firms

2 Bedford Row is home to an 'excellent' group of barristers all with established expertise in the field of financial crime; the set's members are particularly well known for appearing in a number of high-profile cases concerning international corruption and bribery. In this space, William Clegg QC represented Graham Hill, a former official for Alstom Network UK, in the long-running case concerning alleged payment of bribes to secure contracts in a number of countries; Hill was acquitted of the charges.

Cloth Fair Chambers is 'a powerhouse set when it comes to business crime', housing 'high-calibre counsel' who are recognised as 'financial crime experts' by clients. Members of the set continue to act in the Barclays trial concerning its 2008 fundraising from Qatari investors; recent developments include Nicholas Purnell QC and Clare Sibson QC successfully defending John Varley, the former bank CEO, against charges of conspiracy to commit fraud. In the junior ranks, Jonathan Barnard acted for Robert Hallett, the former director of Alstom, in the Serious Fraud Office investigation concerning alleged bribery and corruption offences; the defendant was acquitted of all charges.

At the 'impressive' Matrix Chambers, Tim Owen QC appeared in R (AL) v Serious Fraud Office, regarding the Serious Fraud Office's (SFO's) failure to challenge a company's assertion of legal professional privilege although it was subject to a deferred prosecution agreement after it had self-reported wrongdoing; the key issues concerned the scope of the SFO's disclosure duty towards a defendant in criminal proceedings who had previously been employed by the company.

The 'excellent' Three Raymond Buildings is ‘very strong in business crime’. The set's members are 'highly experienced trial advocates' who handle a broad gamut of business and financial crime cases, such as high-profile corruption and bribery matters, Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigations, and insider trading; more niche specialisms include data protection offences and sanctions. Hugo Keith QC is acting in the long-running SFO investigation into ENRC, namely into alleged deals made between the company and billionaire Dan Gertler.

Tier 2 firms

Financial crime forms a core area of 2 Hare Court's expertise; recent highlights for its members include Jonathan Kinnear QC successfully representing the Serious Fraud Office in the prosecution of shipping company FH Bertling, including six directors and employees, over an oil project in Angola; the defendants were convicted of paying bribes to a local state oil official to secure shipping contracts worth $20m.

6KBW COLLEGE HILL's members defend and prosecute across a spectrum of business crime matters, with recent instructions involving international bribery, corruption, and interest-rate rigging cases. Duncan Penny QC defended Andreas Hauschild, a former Deutsche Bank executive, who was accused by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) of manipulating the Euribor rate; the defendant was acquitted of all charges. Alison Morgan QC is instructed by the SFO in the trial – which began in January 2019 – of four Barclays senior executives regarding the bank's 2008 fundraising from Qatari investors.

QEB Hollis Whiteman's members garner praise from solicitors for their 'impressive range of experience defending and prosecuting in cases brought by both the Serious Fraud Office and the Financial Conduct Authority'. Multiple members of the set continue to act in long-running trials concerning the SFO's investigation into Alstom; Peter Finnigan QC is representing the SFO in the prosecution of the Alstom group of companies. Also of note, Mark Ellison QC has been representing a former senior employee of Rolls-Royce (pre-charge and up to the discontinuation of the SFO's investigation in February 2019) following the company's deferred prosecution agreement in 2017.

Viewed as 'strong' in the field of business crime, Red Lion Chambers' members are adept at prosecuting and defending cases involving corruption, bribery, and Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigations. Recent highlights include Trevor Archer representing the SFO in a corruption case concerning alleged payments made to a public official in South Korea to secure contracts for seismological equipment to monitor earthquakes and nuclear weapons tests in North Korea over a 13-year period.

Tier 3 firms

25 Bedford Row's members have been kept busy handling a range of financial crime cases; for example, new silk Nicola Howard QC acted in a bribery case concerning inducements to obtain contacts via a public official in Korea. She is appearing in a case spanning over 20 jurisdictions, including Moscow, London, Paris, Hong Kong, Madrid, and Amsterdam, concerning alleged defrauding of $180m from a Russian banking group via fraudulent trades in emerging markets warrants.

Noted for being 'very strong in financial crime', 33 Chancery Lane has established strength in proceeds of crime cases, while on the business crime side, the group's recent workload includes Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigations and corruption cases. Amanda Pinto QC defended a former Barclays rate submitter against the SFO concerning alleged manipulation of her submissions to the calculation of Euribor; the defendant was acquitted.

Fountain Court Chambers houses members with an established track record of defending in high-profile SFO cases. Richard Lissack QC and Robin Barclay represented Barclays in the SFO investigation into the bank's alleged fraud linked to its 2008 capital raising in Qatar; in 2018 the SFO's application for a voluntary bill of indictment against Barclays was dismissed. Meanwhile, Tamara Oppenheimer appeared for ENRC in an appeal against the judgment made in The Serious Fraud Office v Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation, concerning legal professional privilege over documents produced during an internal investigation; the appeal was successful.

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