Financial Crime: Private Prosecutions

Joint head of chambers Adrian Darbishire KC is a highly popular silk known for his winning approach in white-collar crime cases. According to commentators, he is excellent on the paperwork and has strong advocacy skills. They further praise him for his lateral thinking and superb interpersonal skills. He acts for high-level executives and professionals in all areas of fraud and financial crime, and has worked on marketing manipulation and accounting fraud cases. Darbishire is further valued for his advice to corporates on a range of financial crime matters.

"Adrian is primus inter pares for jury advocacy and just plain advocacy – you want him on your side and not on the other side."

"Adrian is super-bright and very down-to-earth. He is excellent, charming in court, and a really good person to lead a team in tricky cases."

"Adrian is absurdly clever and astonishingly good on his feet. He simply loves his subject and it shows. He is a consummate communicator, able to set clients and the court at ease and earn their trust."

Rachna Gokani has a well-established practice in financial crime, exhibiting significant expertise and skilled advocacy. She is highlighted by sources for her enviable combination of raw talent and diligence. Allegations of corruption and accounting fraud are a regular feature of her caseload. Her practice includes work on both the defence and prosecution sides, and she has a record of acting in private prosecutions. Gokani is noted for her expertise in cases involving international matters.

"Rachna Gokani is one of the brightest barristers at the criminal Bar today."

"She is amazing. She's incisive in terms of her legal analysis and is able to cut to the chase rapidly and insightfully. She has a lovely manner with clients, who immediately warm to her and trust her."

"Rachna is a really good advocate. She knows exactly when to press or hold back and her written work is first class. An excellent lawyer who really excels at the bedside manner and softer skills."

Tom Doble handles high-quality work in financial crime and is admired for his expertise in HMRC and Serious Fraud Office investigations. He is an expert in cases involving interest rate manipulation and tax fraud, as well as those relating to high-profile bribery and corruption. Doble wins plaudits for his strong technical grasp of complex points of law.

"Tom is unparalleled for written work and drafting. He makes things very simple and can tackle complex elements in a way that is easy to understand."

"Tom is possibly the best criminal barrister of his generation. He’s fiercely intelligent, tenacious, and as confident appearing against heavyweight silks as he is in conference with clients."

"Tom is a brain on a stick and a pleasure to work with. He is incredibly intelligent, very proactive and incredibly hard-working."

Mark Ellison KC is a highly experienced criminal prosecutor and former First Senior Treasury Counsel. Nowadays, he tackles a broad mix of publicly and privately funded criminal defence work, including Serious Fraud Office and Financial Conduct Authority prosecutions concerning suspected bribery and insider dealing. Most of his recent briefs have significant international elements and have involved alleged wrongdoing in jurisdictions including Hungary and Saudi Arabia. He is sought after for his high-calibre representation of corporates in international bribery and corruption matters.

"He has so much court experience and has been through all the hard cases. He is wonderful in court and, strategically, he is first rate."

"Mark has huge breadth and depth of experience."

Sean Larkin KC prosecutes and defends high-value money laundering, investment and tax fraud charges. He has a proven record of defending individuals prosecuted by bodies including the Serious Fraud Office, HMRC and the Financial Conduct Authority. He also provides compliance counsel, self-reporting and pre-charge support to corporate clients.

"Sean is disarmingly relaxed, yet devasting when he starts to turn on the questions. He can take people apart in a way that they can't appreciate it's happening. There's not many as good as Sean."

"He is a very astute barrister who is very good with clients. He has the talent of taking the most complex of issues and simplifying it."

"Sean is calm and assured ‒ an extremely safe pair of hands who brings measured, straightforward common sense."

William Boyce KC is a highly effective silk with an impressively persuasive manner in front of judges and juries. Although a former Senior Treasury Counsel at the Central Criminal Court, he now has a strong defence practice and has been instructed in some major cases, including market manipulation matters and high-profile Financial Conduct Authority and Competition and Markets Authority proceedings. He is adept at fraud, bribery and corruption cases.

"William was a very respected prosecutor who has become a really ferocious defence counsel. He is a highly experienced advocate and highly proficient."

"William wears his profound intellect lightly, brings his immense compassion and kindness to bear with clients, and is devastatingly good on his feet."

"William Boyce KC is a superb advocate, a great strategist and probably the nicest man you will ever meet."

Ari Alibhai focuses his practice on the private prosecution of criminal intellectual property infringement. He is regularly instructed by major corporate clients in the broadcast media, film and sport sectors, as well as several trade organisations.

"Ari is clearly looked at as an authority from the court's perspective. He does a really smart job of taking fairly complex concepts and presenting them to a jury in a way that they get in an instant."

"Ari Alibhai is very clear, very practical, commercially minded in his advice and knows the law inside out. He knows his cases unbelievably well and is very reliable."

Ben FitzGerald KC is lauded for his great command of the facts in a case, his strong work ethic and his leadership skills when part of a team. Cases involving money laundering, banking and tax frauds feature regularly in his workload. He provides capable counsel to clients at a pre-charge stage, as well as when appearing at trial, and is noted for his impressive strategic approach to cases.

"Ben is one of the brightest people at the Bar. Very industrious and capable of spotting points others miss, he understands how corporates operate and how they act in complex arrangements."

"Ben is extremely experienced and highly intelligent. His drafting skills are excellent and he has great judgement."

"Ben brings both prosecution and defence experience. He is very user-friendly and bright."

Crispin Aylett KC is a highly regarded criminal barrister who is noted for his expert handling of both heavyweight general and white-collar criminal matters. While he has considerable experience of acting for and advising major corporate clients facing Senior Fraud Office investigations and criminal charges such as bribery and corruption, Aylett is also regularly called upon to act for the regulators in complex and high-value cases and Deferred Prosecution Agreement negotiations.

"Crispin is really excellent and a charming jury advocate."

"Crispin is incredibly bright and very hard-working."

David Groome is regularly instructed in private prosecutions and has considerable expertise in cases concerning IP rights infringements, fraud, and consumer protection. His clients include several major corporations in the sports, film and broadcast media industries.

"David is excellent when he is speaking to the jury and judge. He makes difficult legal concepts extremely easy to understand in court."

"David is exceptionally good on his feet. He is very switched on and smart and knows the cases inside out. He knows when his opponent is trying to pull the wool over his eyes."

Jason Mansell's background as both a solicitor at a magic circle firm and a regulator at the Financial Services Authority means that he has great insight into how best to approach financial crime cases. He has recently advised a number of corporates on cross-border corruption issues and counselled financial institutions facing inquiries into rate manipulation. Commentators regard him as a go-to barrister for cases with criminal and regulatory crossover elements. His broad-based practice also includes notable strength in money laundering matters and insider dealing cases prosecuted by the Financial Conduct Authority.

"Jason is brilliant. He has great experience in technical, contentious financial conduct work and comes into his own on Financial Conduct Authority arena work."

Polly Dyer has a broad criminal and regulatory practice that takes in fraud and money laundering cases. She also has experience in private prosecutions and is widely respected throughout the legal community for her diligence and advocacy.

"Polly is a lethally intelligent, hard-working and fantastic advocate. She is unstoppable."

"Polly has an exceptional talent for absorbing lots of data and presenting it in a concise and clearly understandable way."

David Spens KC is a veteran criminal barrister recognised for his expert representation of individuals facing high-profile bribery and corruption charges. His matters are largely international in character, covering alleged wrongdoing in a wide variety of jurisdictions.

"David is meticulously prepared in cases and leaves no stone unturned."

"David is well respected and devastatingly good in cross-examination."

Jennifer Newcomb is regularly called upon to prosecute high-value and complex cases. She has been appointed to a number of panels, including the Serious Fraud Office's A Panel and the Fraud Specialist Panel for the Crown Prosecution Service.

"Jennifer has one of the most fantastic advocacy styles and really appeals to juries. She makes things understandable and gets her point across really well. She is really excellent."

"Jennifer is a pleasure to work with. She is hard-working, calm under pressure and respected by judges and peers."

"She is very co-operative and her advocacy is excellent. She can present massive, detailed financial evidence to the jury in a very comprehensive way."

Karen Robinson is an experienced junior who is noted for her expertise in financial crime investigations. She is regularly instructed by prosecuting entities in connection with fraud matters.

"Karen is super. She is remarkable in how quickly she picks ups a case. She has it all in terms of the advocacy and her written skills."

"She is brilliant and so precise in her questioning."

Paul Raudnitz KC is a sound and dependable barrister who prosecutes and defends, and regularly provides companies with pre-charge advice. Investment fraud, bribery, and money laundering cases all form part of his practice.

"Paul is great counsel for complex fraud."

Philip Stott is an experienced criminal barrister who regularly appears in complex fraud, bribery and corruption cases. He has experience acting both for the prosecution and the defence, and has recently acted as sole junior in two major Serious Fraud Office prosecutions.

"His grasp of the law is first rate."

"Phillip is an excellent advocate and very easy to work with."

Joint head of chambers Selva Ramasamy KC prosecutes and defends cases involving professionals and companies charged in criminal, regulatory and disciplinary proceedings. He has recently worked on a number of tax fraud proceedings against HMRC and has also acted in crossover fraud and professional disciplinary matters involving the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the General Dental Council. His financial crime practice also takes in bribery cases.

"Selva Ramasamy is a calm and reassuring presence. He is very jury-friendly and has a nice, gentle approach to advocacy. He has a really cerebral take on things."

Tom Broomfield is a well-regarded junior recognised for his particular expertise in Financial Conduct Authority matters. He is regularly called upon to prosecute insider dealing cases.

"Tom is excellent with strategy and his drafting is persuasive and concise."

Alexandra Felix KC is well regarded for her handling of complex financial crime and professional discipline matters. She acts for both the prosecution and the defence, and offers expertise in high-value money laundering and fraudulent trading cases.

"Alexandra is outstanding and her written work is excellent."

"Alexandra is incredibly good. She cares about all of her cases and is strong on detail and sharp in court."

Mark Aldred is a talented barrister who is noted for his expertise in significant Serious Fraud Office investigations. He is commended for his ability in major fraud cases and is particularly experienced in international bribery and corruption cases.

"Mark Aldred is really tough, has great judgement and is a fierce defender."

Peter Finnigan KC is a former Standing Counsel to HMRC who has broad experience of cases concerning bribery, money laundering and MTIC frauds. His recent caseload has included high-profile work prosecuting international bribery matters. He also defended in market manipulation proceedings related to the rigging of LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate).

Philip Evans KC is a sought-after barrister who is recognised for his tactical skill and depth of experience. He demonstrates a range in both his geographical and topical focus and is able to handle great complexity and large regulatory bodies.

"Philip brings an extraordinarily calm and measured head to what he does. He has a serene ability to keep everyone on track."

"He is delightful to work with, friendly and charming, and extremely experienced. He has the defence and prosecution experience and brings all his experience to bear."

Senghin Kong is well regarded for his grasp of the detail as a specialist in business crime. He regularly appears in cases of financial wrongdoing brought by the Serious Fraud Office and the Financial Conduct Authority, representing defence and the prosecuting agencies alike in a variety of insider trading, money laundering, bribery and corruption, and serious and complex fraud.

"Senghin can absorb a huge amount of detail and fashion that detail into legal arguments well. He is a careful and considered lawyer."

"He is very bright in terms of legal arguments and analysing evidence. He has a reassuring manner with the judge and the jury."

Jocelyn Ledward KC is a highly rated criminal barrister with an increasing focus on significant financial crime cases. She is valued for her representation of clients in cases alleging varieties of fraud ‒ in particular, tax fraud. She is also experienced in money laundering cases.

"There is a sprinkling of stardust about Jocelyn. She is super-bright, has a great reputation and is a force of nature."