Kate is a Partner in our award-winning Corporate Crime and Investigations practice.
Kate advises and represents clients on corporate crime matters, in particular in respect of fraud, corruption, money laundering and sanctions. She assists clients in balancing the competing risks and demands they face from criminal and regulatory investigation by agencies in multiple jurisdictions, often alongside civil claims.
Kate has significant experience of internal and external investigations, including those conducted by the SFO, FCA, Police and HMRC, and the US DoJ and SEC. She represents clients at compelled interviews with the SFO and regulators. She has experience of criminal prosecutions as well as resolution by Deferred Prosecution Agreement. She has been seconded to the SFO, as well as to a FTSE 100 client as lawyer to their investigations team. She has also spent time in the Herbert Smith Freehills Hong Kong office and is admitted as a Solicitor in Hong Kong as well as England and Wales. She is a Solicitor Advocate, having obtained her higher rights.
She acts for a range of clients, including banks, multinational corporates and individuals.
Kate is recognised by Legal 500 as a Next Generation Partner in respect of advice to both corporates and individuals, by Who's Who Legal as a leading individual and in GIR's "100 Remarkable Women in Investigations". She is described as ‘a sleek and intelligent strategist’, and "extremely bright, with a clear tactical sense of the case. She has an exceptional sense of what a corporate client needs".
Experience & expertise
Selected matters
- Roger Jenkins in respect of a prosecution of fraud charges brought by the SFO in respect of events surrounding capital raisings by Barclays Bank in 2008, on which he was acquitted of all charges in February 2020
- Société Générale in respect of a c. US$1.5 billion claim brought by the Libyan Investment Authority, involving allegations of corruption and intimidation
- UBS on an unauthorised trading incident in the investment bank that resulted in a loss of $2.3 billion – providing advice from the initial discovery of the incident, through internal and independent investigations, to the criminal trial and conclusion of regulatory enforcement action
- a number of employees/ex-employees in respect of the SFO investigation into Tesco and prosecution of individuals formerly employed by Tesco, in relation to charges of fraud and false accounting
- an individual in respect of the SFO’s investigation into affairs at Rolls Royce plc
- various listed and global companies on corporate criminal liability, including "failure to prevent" offences under the Bribery Act, ECCTA (fraud) and Criminal Finances Act (facilitation of tax evasion). Advice on implementation and maintenance of adequate procedures, including delivering training in Asia, Africa, Europe and the US
