33 Chancery Lane > London, England > Set Profile

33 Chancery Lane
LONDON
WC2A 1EN
England

Email firm Visit website 020 7440 9950 020 7430 2818

London Bar > Proceeds of crime (POCA) and asset forfeiture Tier 1

33 Chancery Lane remains a pre-eminent set for the full spectrum of POCA work, with the members’ busy workload extending to unexplained wealth and account freezing orders, civil recovery and confiscation under POCA, as well as advice on the intersection of POCA issues and sanctions law. Mark Rainsford KC acts in proceedings related to the biggest single recovery of cryptocurrency obtained under POCA by the NCA, whereas Kennedy Talbot KC was involved in securing an order restraining £75m assets in relation to the investigation into PPE Medpro, a company owned by the husband of Conservative peer Baroness Mone that was awarded large government personal protective equipment contracts during the Covid pandemic. Penelope Small is instructed in an enforcement case involving a child suffering from multiple learning difficulties living in a property purchased by the father from the proceeds of his criminal conduct. Christopher Convey is instructed by the SFO in ongoing confiscation proceedings against mortgage fraudster Achilleas Kallakis, including litigation related to the recovery of donations to the Francis Holland School, which named a theatre after him.

Leading Silks

Andrew Mitchell KC –33 Chancery Lane 'Andrew is an industry leader and brings real gravitas to his cases.'

Ranked: Tier 1

Kennedy Talbot KC –33 Chancery Lane ‘Kennedy is great to work with. He encourages a collegiate approach with his solicitors and lay client alike. His knowledge of POCA is encyclopaedic, and as a result both his written work and advocacy are both top drawer.'

Ranked: Tier 1

Martin Evans KC –33 Chancery Lane ‘Extremely well prepared and skillful across the whole ambit of case preparation and presentation. Financial analysis and commercial understanding is first class. Particularly incisive in cross examination with a deftness across masses of financial and contractual matters.'

Ranked: Tier 1

Mark Rainsford KC –33 Chancery Lane ‘Mark's advice was sound.'

Ranked: Tier 2

Graham Brodie KC –33 Chancery Lane ‘Excellent attention to detail, direct and clear advice. Ensures that client understands the risks and implications of the proceedings. No-nonsense advice, when the clients need it the most. Clearly an expert in this field.'

Ranked: Tier 2

Leading Juniors

Christopher Convey –33 Chancery Lane 'Christopher is an excellent and tenacious advocate in court.'

Ranked: Tier 1

Fiona Jackson –33 Chancery Lane 'She is supremely diligent, meticulous, and in command of her case.'

Ranked: Tier 1

Ian Smith –33 Chancery Lane ‘His strength is that he playing in both the civil world and the criminal world.'

Ranked: Tier 1

Barry Stancombe –33 Chancery Lane ‘Barry is an encyclopaedia on POCA law and practice. He is a very well respected advocate by the courts in all POCA work.'

Ranked: Tier 1

Faisal Osman –33 Chancery Lane ‘Faisal is incredibly user friendly and responsive. His written work is excellent, and his advocacy is persuasive.'

Ranked: Tier 1

Catherine Collins –33 Chancery Lane ‘Superb mastery.'

Ranked: Tier 2

Penelope Small –33 Chancery Lane ‘Her drafting is clear, robust and unambiguous as is her advice to clients.'

Ranked: Tier 2

Rachel Ferrari – 33 Chancery Lane ‘Rachel is meticulous in her preparation. She has a fantastic eye for detail and her ability to reduce a voluminous case into a more manageable working document is a real skill.’

Ranked: Tier 3

Testimonials

‘A friendly and integrated service.The clerks systems and client handling are excellent – with a can-do attitude, enabling easier planning on my side. Chris Chiles is excellent.’

‘Very able set of clerks. Martin Adams in particular is always responsive to queries and requests for assistance.’

‘Martin Adams is excellent. Always tries to help, and is very responsive.’

’33 Chancery Lane is the go-to set for POCA work. Number One.’

‘The set has heavyweight individuals and is undoubtedly at the top of the tree for all matters relating to economic crime including Proceeds of Crime Act cases.’

’33 Chancery Lane is possibly the best set in the country in terms of depth of quality counsel for POCA work. Every member is highly respected.’

‘Heavy focus on confiscation cases, the market leader in this field.’

’33 Chancery Lane is a prominent set specialising in POCA and commercial matters, boasting excellent counsel.’

Work highlights

London Bar > Business and regulatory crime (including global investigations) Tier 3

With specialisms that include money laundering and bribery offences, 33 Chancery Lane stands out for its well-known expertise in handling POCA-related issues, allowing an offering that ranges from advice on the investigation stage through to confiscation proceedings. Faisal Osman was involved in the acquittal of a client in a corruption case regarding decades-long supply of signals equipment to the Saudi Arabian National Guard, and allegations that the UK Ministry of Defence and the Saudi government knew and commended corrupt payments to senior members the National Guard. Sam Carter, formerly of Outer Temple Chambers, is a new appointment as the set’s Chief Executive and Director of Clerking.

Leading Silks

Mark Rainsford KC – 33 Chancery Lane ‘Mark is an excellent advocate. His advocacy is measured, incisive and persuasive. He has a natural authority, which catches the court's attention and makes his points land. His attractive and well-structured submissions reflect his meticulous preparation.’

Ranked: Tier 1

Graham Brodie KC – 33 Chancery Lane ‘Graham is strategically brilliant. Even in the most stressful situations he never loses his sense of humour, which makes him very pleasant to work with.’

Ranked: Tier 2

Leading Juniors

Faisal Osman – 33 Chancery Lane 'Faisal is incredibly user friendly and responsive. His written work is excellent, and his advocacy is persuasive. His practice across both civil work and criminal asset forfeiture is a real point of difference.'

Ranked: Tier 2

Testimonials

‘Martin Adams has been good.’

‘Martin Adams is a solid senior clerk with an impressive ability to present the most talented advocates tailored to the client’s needs.’

’33 Chancery Lane is a go-to set for asset forfeiture work.’

’33 Chancery Lane has carefully studied the legal market and is adapting to ensure that it stays focused on offering great advice. It is forward-thinking with exemplary practitioners at all levels, and with a friendly and efficient and commercial clerks room to boot. An impressive outfit.’

‘This set is well known for this work.’

’33 Chancery Lane is a bespoke, boutique chambers offering the finest quality business crime advocates, that are respected far and wide.’

Work highlights

London Bar > Fraud: crime Tier 3

33 Chancery Lane is ‘a very strong set for financial crime and criminal fraud work‘. Narita Bahra KC is highly regarded as a ‘go-to advocate‘ for complex fraud matters, recently representing a defendant who was convicted of online romance fraud after defrauding multiple women out of £100,000. The 'calm, measured, and persuasive' Alistair Webster KC recently acted for a company director charged with alleged involvement in a major diversion fraud. At the junior end of chambers, Catherine Collins is well versed in prosecuting and defending in complex fraud matters.

Leading Silks

Narita Bahra KC – 33 Chancery Lane ‘Narita has built a formidable reputation as one of the finest advocates around. A go-to silk for high-profile fraud and white collar crime cases.’

Ranked: Tier 1

Mark Rainsford KC – 33 Chancery Lane ‘Mark is an excellent advocate: measured, incisive and persuasive. He has a natural authority, which catches the court’s attention and makes his points land.'

Ranked: Tier 2

Graham Brodie KC – 33 Chancery Lane ‘Graham is a superb strategist and a tenacious advocate.'

Ranked: Tier 3

Alistair Webster KC –33 Chancery Lane 'He is an exceptional advocate with a commanding presence in court. Juries love him.'

Ranked: Tier 3

Andrew Mitchell KC – 33 Chancery Lane

Ranked: Tier 3

Leading Juniors

Christopher Convey – 33 Chancery Lane ‘Christopher is simply excellent: great with clients and exceptional in court.’

Ranked: Tier 2

Nick James -33 Chancery Lane ‘An exceptional advocate with an approach that combines passion for his craft with superb judgement in even the most difficult situations.’

Ranked: Tier 3

Catherine Collins – 33 Chancery Lane ‘Catherine is extremely bright, articulate and highly proficient.'

Ranked: Tier 4

Testimonials

‘Martin Adams is very good to deal with and makes a point of understanding the case as well as just dealing with commercials.’

‘Chris Chiles is very hard-working and pleasant to deal with.’

‘Martin Adams is professional, friendly and has a wealth of knowledge.’

’33CL is very well operated and has real strength in white-collar crime. They can offer junior barristers to support where necessary.’

‘A very strong set for financial crime and criminal fraud work.’

’33CL is one of the premier sets particularly for financial crime matters.’

London Bar > Crime

Leading Silks

Narita Bahra KC – 33 Chancery Lane ‘Narita is incredibly hard-working. She is meticulous in preparation, in particular in relation to disclosure, in which she is an industry thought leader and noted author of the practitioner texts. Narita is a masterful advocate who has seen it all and knows just what to say and how to say it to best effect.’

Ranked: Tier 2

London Bar > Fraud: civil

Leading Silks

Aidan Casey KC – 33 Chancery Lane ‘Aidan is very charismatic. Solicitors, clients and judges respect him.’

Ranked: Tier 2

Graham Brodie KC –33 Chancery Lane 'An excellent, whip-smart practitioner. A joy to work with.'

Ranked: Tier 3

Leading Juniors

Ian Smith –33 Chancery Lane 'A very thorough junior who demonstrates good judgement.'

Ranked: Tier 2

Faisal Osman –33 Chancery Lane 'An extremely intelligent and organized junior.'

Ranked: Tier 3

London Bar > Commercial litigation

Leading Silks

Aidan Casey KC – 33 Chancery Lane ‘Aiden is incredibly responsive and gets on top of the facts and issues very quickly. He is extremely knowledgeable and technically astute but is also very commercial and practical.’

Ranked: Tier 5

Midland Circuit > Commercial litigation

Leading Juniors

Olivia Chaffin-Laird – 33 Chancery Lane ‘Olivia is technically brilliant whilst having the ability to explain the most difficult concepts to clients in appropriate terms. She is an absolute pleasure to work with in all aspects of litigation, from written advice and pleadings, to her immensely impressive advocacy skills.’

Ranked: Tier 2

The English Bar Offshore > Commercial disputes

Leading Silks

Aidan Casey KC – 33 Chancery Lane ‘Aidan has an excellent communication style, providing clients with not only outstanding advice but in a manner which is easily understandable. Always calm and very quick to spot options in difficult situations.’

Ranked: Tier 3

This internationally renowned set specialises in commercial and financial wrongdoing, including asset forfeiture, bribery and corruption, civil recovery, company and insolvency work, fraud, investigative law, money laundering, public access, and regulatory law.

The set: With an unrivalled, proven track record at its foundation, the set is an acknowledged leader in its field in the UK and overseas. Its members pride themselves on providing approachable, responsive and supportive cradle-to-grave litigation strategies, leading to elegant, simple and common-sense solutions.

The set places significant emphasis on client care and procedures. It has acted for governments, corporations and individuals around the world, including the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Abu Dhabi, Dubai (DIFC), India, the US, Australia, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Canada, Argentina, China, Seychelles, Liechtenstein, Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey, The Isle of Man, Denmark, Pakistan, Singapore, Hong Kong, the British Virgin Islands, and Northern Ireland. Members appear in tribunals, arbitrations, mediations, appeals or at first instance, domestically and throughout the common law world.

Twelve members have been appointed to the specialist SFO PoCA and Prosecution Lists. Members include the authors of Corporate Criminal Liability and the leading text on confiscation and asset forfeiture: Mitchell, Taylor and Talbot and Criminal Confiscation and Civil Recovery. Members also contribute to Archbold (the money laundering chapter), The White Book, Blackstone’s and Administrative Court Practice and Procedure. Another Member is the lead author of Smith & Shepherd, Commercial and Cyber Fraud: a Legal Guide to Justice for Businesses as well as the author of A Practitioner’s Guide to Commercial and Cyber Fraud: Claiming Compensation in the Civil and Criminal Courts.

Types of work undertaken: Members often appear on behalf of corporate personalities, company directors and liquidators regarding financial wrongdoing matters and are instructed in regular insolvency work and company law actions, such as unfair prejudice claims and derivative actions on behalf of minority shareholders, including actions against directors for breach of their statutory duties.

Fraud, civil and criminal, are notable areas of expertise. Members are routinely instructed in pre-charge or pre-action issues, such as freezing/restraint orders, drafting claims and defences, judicial review of investigative decisions, multi-jurisdictional matters, ADR, and other issues. Members are instructed to defend and prosecute in cases of the highest complexity brought by the SFO, FCA, NCA, CPS and other agencies as well as act for Claimants or Respondents in complex civil actions. Investigative law expertise includes search warrants, production orders and witness summonses.

Members of 33 Chancery Lane have been at the forefront of legal practice in money laundering for decades and continue to act in the most complex cases domestically and overseas, as well as delivering personalised training and education to professionals in the field. Members have been advising numerous investors and financial institutions in matters concerning money laundering obligations arising out of the emerging cannabis market in Canada.

Asset forfeiture is a major specialism. Members are regularly instructed by prosecuting authorities, defendants and interested parties. They frequently make applications applying for, discharging or varying restraint orders. Members regularly appear in applications to discharge or vary Account Freezing Orders (AFO) and Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWO) as well as applications relating to Moratorium Period Extensions. They handle competing claims between ancillary relief applications flowing from divorce and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, as well as high-value confiscation proceedings at the Crown Court involving assets in and outside the jurisdiction, including hidden asset cases.

Bribery and corruption expertise includes UK Bribery Act matters as well as overseas legislation. Members have appeared in many civil recovery proceedings and are retained by the CPS and SFO as well as respondents to advise upon and act in the development of the latest jurisprudence.

The set is also a leader in proceedings before financial and professional regulatory bodies, including enforcement, mediation and settlement. Members frequently appear before professional disciplinary bodies.

Department	Name	Email	Telephone
Members of Chambers	TALBOT KC, Kennedy (1984)
Members of Chambers	WEBSTER KC, Alistair (1976)
Members of Chambers	MITCHELL KC, Andrew (1976)
Members of Chambers	RAINSFORD KC, Mark (1985)
Members of Chambers	BRODIE KC, Graham (1989)
Members of Chambers	CASEY KC, Aidan (2016)
	WALKER KC, Steven (2016)
Members of Chambers	EVANS KC, Martin (1989)
Members of Chambers	BAHRA KC, Narita (1997)
Members of Chambers	SHARP KC (Jersey), Howard (2001)
Members of Chambers	STANCOMBE, Barry (1983)
Members of Chambers	SAUNT, Linda (1986)
Members of Chambers	SMALL, Penelope (1992)
Members of Chambers	CONVEY, Christopher (1994)
Members of Chambers	JACKSON, Fiona (1998)
Members of Chambers	CHAFFIN-LAIRD, Olivia (2001)
Members of Chambers	JAMES, Nick (2001)
Members of Chambers	OSMAN, Faisal (2002)
Members of Chambers	SMITH, Ian (2003)
Members of Chambers	SNELL, Christopher (2010)
Members of Chambers	COLLINS, Catherine (2010)
Members of Chambers	SYKES, Christopher (2015)
Members of Chambers	FERRARI, Rachel (2018)

Name	Position	Profile
Ms Narita Bahra KC	Narita Bahra KC is a leading Criminal and Business Fraud Defence Barrister…	View Profile
Graham Brodie KC	Graham Brodie KC specialises in civil and criminal litigation arising out of…	View Profile
Catherine Collins	Catherine is a specialist advocate whose practice encompasses all aspects of financial…	View Profile
Christopher Convey	Christopher Convey practices in the field of national and international commercial wrongdoing…	View Profile
Martin Evans KC	Martin’s practice involves all aspects of the law relating to asset recovery,…	View Profile
Rachel Ferrari		View Profile
Fiona Jackson	Fiona Jackson practises in the areas of domestic and international fraud and…	View Profile
Andrew Mitchell KC	Specialises in advising and representing clients international and domestically in civil and…	View Profile
Faisal Osman	The core of Faisal’s work relates to domestic and international civil and…	View Profile
Mark Rainsford KC	An internationally pre-eminent silk and litigation strategy expert, specialising in business crime,…	View Profile
Linda Saunt	As a mediator Linda is accredited by ADR Group for both commercial…	View Profile
Penelope Small	A senior junior counsel with decades of experience in cases related to…	View Profile
Ian Smith	Ian works across a spectrum of commercial fraud, cyber fraud and misconduct…	View Profile
Mr Christopher Snell	Chris has a commercial disputes practice with experience of financial services and…	View Profile
Barry Stancombe	Barry is a specialist in asset forfeiture and proceeds of crime particularly…	View Profile
Kennedy Talbot KC	Kennedy Talbot KC’s practice areas are Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 civil…	View Profile
Alistair Webster KC	Alistair Webster K.C. combines, having taken silk at the age of 41…	View Profile