Barristers

Appointments

Junior Counsel to the Crown (Treasury Panel, Civil List C): appointed 2009

Serious Fraud Office Panel of Counsel (List B): appointed 2009

Attorney General's Panel of Prosecuting Counsel (Crime List C): appointed 2006

Practice Areas and Specialisations

Tax Litigation

Serious Fraud and Organised Crime

Asset Recovery

Mutual Legal Assistance

Public Law

Regulatory and Disciplinary Law

After focusing for several years on the prosecution of serious criminal fraud and organised crime, Nick’s practice is now very broadly based, taking in a wide range of interconnected areas of law such as civil tax litigation, complex fraud prosecutions, civil and quasi-criminal asset recovery, insolvency, chancery/commercial litigation, regulatory law and public law.  Many of his cases involve the interface between criminal and civil law or have some other criminal dimension.  His clients include a range of Government and prosecuting bodies, including the Treasury Solicitor, HMRC, CPS Fiscal Fraud, RCPO, SOCA, BIS and leading firms of solicitors.

Tax Litigation
Nick's practice is increasingly focused on litigation relating to tax fraud, both in the criminal and civil context.

Since his appointment as Junior Treasury Counsel in 2009, Nick has been briefed in several very large and complex civil VAT appeals, generally involving allegations of MTIC fraud, and frequently with tens of millions of pounds in dispute.  He has been briefed in his own right in a number of significant appeals and as junior counsel to HMRC in one of the largest MTIC appeals to be heard.  He acts for SOCA in direct tax proceedings relating to Part 6 POCA general revenue functions and for HMRC in Chancery Division proceedings involving, for example, provisional liquidation on the basis of tax fraud or winding up due to tax default.

Serious Fraud and Organised Crime
Nick continues to act in complex and high-profile criminal prosecutions involving duty evasion, direct tax and especially major MTIC fraud and the related money laundering.  He has acted in some of the very biggest criminal cases in this context.  He has a detailed understanding of accountancy procedure and tax regulations and has particular experience of cases involving disclosure and public interest complexities (RIPA, PII etc).
 
Asset Recovery
Nick also specialises in the recovery of the proceeds of crime and civil fraud.  He has been briefed as specialist asset forfeiture counsel on a number of very major criminal cases involving tens or hundreds of millions of pounds.  He has appeared in a number of reported cases in this context.  In 2008, Nick was briefed to provide policy advice to RCPO, principally relating to disclosure in parallel criminal and asset forfeiture proceedings.  He has also acted in multi-million pound Chancery Division actions involving the tracing and freezing of the proceeds of civil fraud.  

Mutual Legal Assistance
Nick has particular expertise in cases with an international dimension. He has advised and appeared in numerous cases involving the obtaining and use of foreign evidence and also has considerable experience of the tracing and freezing of overseas assets, including in the most serious and complex cases.  In 2006-2007 he was briefed by RCPO to undertake a major review of its policies and procedures relating to mutual legal assistance.  He acted as junior counsel to HMRC in Megantic v HMRC, an important case relating to the use of overseas evidence in civil/tax proceedings.
 
Public Law
As a member of the Treasury Panel, Nick advises and acts for a range of Government departments and bodies across a wide spectrum of civil and public law, often but not always involving human rights issues and/or the interface between criminal and civil law.  His public law cases typically take in issues such as asylum and humanitarian protection, unlawful detention, habeas corpus, data protection, public interest immunity, penal law, deportation and bail.  He has appeared in a number of reported cases in this context.  Nick also acts for Government in other contexts, for example in civil restitution proceedings or in employment / disciplinary proceedings.

Regulatory and Disciplinary Law
Nick has an evolving regulatory / disciplinary practice, principally relating to the accountancy profession and financial markets, and has advised in cases of very major public interest.

Education and Qualifications