Oliver Powell KC > Chambers of James Counsell KC and Keith Bryant KC > London, England > Barrister Profile
Outer Temple Chambers Offices
Outer Temple Chambers
THE OUTER TEMPLE, 222 STRAND
LONDON
WC2R 1BA
England
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Oliver Powell KC
Work Department
Business Crime, Regulation and Sanctions, Commercial Litigation, Financial Services, Health, Safety and Environment, Marine and Fisheries, Alternative Dispute Resolution
Position
Barrister specialising in Business Crime, Regulation and Sanctions, Commercial Litigation, Financial Services, Health, Safety and Environment, Marine and Fisheries, and Alternative Dispute Resolution.
Career
Oliver undertakes instructions that involve the regulation of business activity and commerce. He is often instructed in matters with an international element and usually cases involving allegations of dishonesty, sharp practice or breach of regulations. His practice encompasses: asset forfeiture & civil recovery; business crime; civil fraud; corporate investigations; financial services; health, safety & environment; maritime regulatory law; and sanctions & export controls.
He acts for companies, company officers, and high-net-worth individuals, and is routinely instructed by US and City law firms. His strong interpersonal skills, candid advice and robust advocacy allow him to forge solid working relationships, making him a popular choice with solicitors and clients alike.
Recent or extant work includes:
- AS PNB Banka & Others v Republic of Latvia, ICSID Case No. ARB/17/47 – award pending.
- Overseas legal expert in a $125m arbitration in Russia.
- Retained in a £55m dishonest assistance claim in the Commercial Court.
- Retained in a £28m professional negligence claim in the Admiralty Court.
- Retained to advise on various sanctions issues pertaining to a £800m bankruptcy.
- Retained to advise a UK regulator in a multi-jurisdictional fraud.
- Retained to advise and act for Skyjack (UK) Ltd at an inquest.
- Acted for WSP UK Ltd in respect of a matter brought by CFRA.
- Acted for Bombardier Transportation UK Limited in relation to the 2016 Croydon tram derailment.
He is a Barrister of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (BVI), a member of the New York State Bar Association, and in recent years has undertaken work in, amongst others, USA and UAE, as well as several UK Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
Oliver is an editor of Millington and Sutherland Williams on the Proceeds of Crime and a contributor to Lissack and Horlick on Bribery, the seminal texts on POCA and Bribery & Corruption respectively.
Memberships
- Admiralty Bar Group
- Appointed Vice Chairman of British Marine IFLS (2017 to 2021)
- Bar None Mentor
- Commercial Fraud Lawyers Association
- Financial Services Lawyers Association
- Fraud Advisory Panel
- Health & Safety Lawyers’ Association
- New York State Bar Association
- Proceeds of Crime Lawyers’ Association
- Pupil Supervisor (2013 to present)
- Revenue Bar Association
- Social Mobility Foundation Mentor (2010 to present)
- The Fraud Lawyers Association
- Western Circuit
Lawyer Rankings
London Bar > Proceeds of crime (POCA) and asset forfeiture
(Leading Juniors)Ranked: Tier 2Oliver Powell –Outer Temple Chambers ‘Oliver is a first-rate barrister. He is very responsive, utterly charming and will go the extra mile for a client. He is tireless in his pursuit of excellence.’
London Bar > Business and regulatory crime (including global investigations)
(Leading Juniors)Ranked: Tier 2London Bar > Health and safety
(Leading Juniors)Ranked: Tier 1Oliver Powell – Outer Temple Chambers ‘A first-choice junior counsel. He is an extremely safe pair of hands and inspires confidence through his commitment to the case.’
With a particularly strong maritime and rail-related health and safety practice, Outer Temple Chambers is also highly regarded as ‘the go-to set for corporate defendants and company officers facing health and safety investigations and prosecutions‘. Ben Compton KC is representing the explosives contractors in ongoing proceedings arising from the Didcot Power Station collapse in 2016, which resulted in four fatalities. In a separate matter, James Leonard KC successfully defended a construction company in a health and safety case arising from a fatal accident on a construction site. Oliver Powell is routinely instructed in maritime-related health and safety cases, and is prosecuting for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in MCA v Intrada Ships Management Ltd (‘Scot Carrier’), a long-running case concerning a double fatality following a fatal vessel collision in 2021.
London Bar > Financial services and fintech regulation
(Leading Juniors)Ranked: Tier 3Oliver Powell –Outer Temple Chambers ‘Oliver is very responsive, utterly charming and will go the extra mile for a client.’
With a ‘longstanding reputation for financial services work’, Outer Temple Chambers’ members ‘routinely act for and against the FCA, PRU and Lloyds of London’. Michael Uberoi and Henry Reid acted for the defendant in FCA v Reynolds, proceedings brought against a financial adviser seeking the disgorgement of over £2m of commission payments obtained in consequence of advice given to members of the British Steel pensions scheme; with the Upper Tribunal appeal being heard in June 2024. Oliver Powell, who always ‘goes the extra mile for his client’, is particularly well regarded for regulatory enforcement action taken by the FCA and Lloyds, internal investigations conducted by financial institutions, and criminal prosecutions brought by the FCA and SFO.