Hugo Keith KC KC > Chambers of James Lewis KC & Hugo Keith KC > London, England > Barrister Profile
Three Raymond Buildings Offices
Three Raymond Buildings
3 RAYMOND BUILDINGS, GRAY'S INN
LONDON
WC1R 5BH
England
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Hugo Keith KC KC
Position
Hugo Keith KC is recognised as one of the legal profession’s leading Silks and is described as ‘a fabulous silk’ and as having ‘an outstanding reputation’.
He is lead Counsel to the UK public inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic.
He was a member of the ‘A’ Panel of civil Treasury Counsel for 8 years, during which time he regularly appeared on matters of public and criminal law both on behalf of Government departments and as amicus curiae before the High Court, Court of Appeal and House of Lords. He has appeared in 15 cases before the House of Lords/Supreme Court.
As well as his regular appearances in the High Court and Supreme Court, he has been instructed in some of the most high profile cases of recent years. He represented Princess Anne when she was prosecuted, and represented The Queen in the Inquest into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. He appeared on behalf of Malcolm Calvert in the Cazenove inside dealing case. He was appointed leading Counsel to the Inquests into the London Bombings of 7 July 2005 and, subsequently, appeared in the Leveson Inquiry on behalf of Rebekah Brooks. He appeared in the Mark Duggan, Alexander Litvinenko and Westminster inquests, and represented the Home Secretary in the El-Gizouli judicial review (concerning MLA relating to one of the ‘Jihadi Beatles‘) and the Electoral Commission in its proceedings against Leave.EU. He appeared on behalf of Airbus in the largest Deferred Prosecution Agreement yet concluded.
Hugo is instructed by companies, high net-worth individuals, and politically exposed persons relating to all aspects of extradition (including advising on Interpol and on international restraint), international criminal/corporate liability, sanctions and criminal judicial review. His extradition and MLA cases include the leading and high profile cases of Berezovsky, US v Bermingham (the Natwest Three), Abu Hamza, Gary McKinnon, Shrien Dewani, David Kezerashvili and Hamdi Ipek.
In the field of financial and international crime, he advised on the UK’s first Deferred Prosecution Agreement (Standard Bank Plc) and appeared in the two of the most recent DPAs (Guralp Systems Limited and Airbus). He has been involved on behalf of individuals or corporate bodies in a large number of the SFO’s highest profile investigations of recent years: LIBOR, EURIBOR, FOREX, Alstom, Autonomy, Rolls Royce, Tesco, Unaoil and ENRC.
He is an expert on search and seizure, restraint and confiscation, and appeared in the leading cases of Rawlinson & Hunter Trustees and Others (search warrants), Golfrate (search warrant), Malabu Oil and Gas (international MLA restraint) and SFO v Zlochevsky (restraint against overseas Minister). He has represented and/or advised a significant number of overseas politically exposed persons, and/or their family members, including Berlusconi (Italy), Sharif (Pakistan), Patarkatsishvili (Georgia), Bakiev (Kyrgyzstan), Mubarak (Egypt), Firtash (Ukraine), and Karimov (Uzbekistan).
He is a renowned appellate advocate, and has appeared in a significant number of leading criminal cases in the UK higher courts. He has appeared twice in the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal, most recently in the appeal concerning the former Chief Secretary of Hong Kong.
Career
Call 1989; Silk 2009
Joint Head of Chambers 2020 –
Education
Magdalen College, Oxford (MA Hons Jurisprudence).
Leisure
Tennis, sailing, climbing.
Lawyer Rankings
London Bar > Proceeds of crime (POCA) and asset forfeiture
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 2Three Raymond Buildings is equipped to comfortably handle a variety of work related to restraint, confiscation and civil recovery proceedings, including advice on search and seizure orders, and receivership applications. Hugo Keith KC continues to represent a Russian oligarch challenging sanctions-related account freezing orders, while also acting in high-profile proceedings relating to offshore companies beneficially owned by the granddaughter of former Uzbekistan president Islam Karimov. Jonathan Ashley-Norman KC is instructed in R v Mazzarello, a case where the defendant is in custody in Italy, and fights £50m confiscation proceedings, which extend to Swiss trusts and hidden Lichtenstein bank accounts. With a specialism in cross-border work, and particularly in mutual legal assistance issues, Nicholas Yeo recently represented the defendant in appeal proceedings against a confiscation order after a fraud conviction regarding conduct that caused millions of pounds in damage.
London Bar > Extradition
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 1Hugo Keith KC – Three Raymond Buildings ‘Hugo is a commanding presence in court, he ensures he is thoroughly prepared both in terms of the facts and the law and works extraordinarily hard.’
London Bar > Inquests and inquiries
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 2Hugo Keith KC –Three Raymond Buildings ‘Hugo is highly intelligent and hard working. An exceptional choice for difficult and high profile inquests and inquiries.’
‘Jam packed with talented, caring barristers‘, Three Raymond Buildings is ‘a truly first class set’ with a wide range of inquests and inquiry experience. Hugo Keith KC continues to act as lead counsel to the Covid-19 inquiry, with 2024 Silk Saba Naqshbandi KC acting for the largest warranty provider and building control inspector nationally, NHBC, in the Grenfell Tower inquiry. Patrick Gibbs KC is a go-to for inquests involving the actions and omissions of state agents, exemplified by his work as leading advocate for the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation in the inquest into the death of Alexander Litvinenko. Hugh Davies OBE KC specialises in representing members of the police family, including representing a police firearms officer in the inquest into the death of Sean Fitzgerald during a pre-planned operation. Sarah Le Fevre is instructed to represent the National Police Chiefs Council in the Covid-19 inquiry, while Bo-Eun Jung was instructed for the inquiry in modules 1 and 2 of the same.
London Bar > Business and regulatory crime (including global investigations)
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 1Hugo Keith KC – Three Raymond Buildings ‘Hugo has an unbeatable combination of depth of experience and fluent advocacy.’