Peters & Peters Solicitors LLP

This specialist practice is best known as a market-leading firm in business crime, civil fraud, commercial litigation and regulatory work, for which it attracts an impressive client base.

The firm: Peters & Peters was one of the first City law firms to develop a key multidisciplinary approach, allowing the firm to act for corporate and individual clients in fraud-related cases that require both civil and criminal expertise. Much of its work is high-profile and international in scope, with the firm providing advice to foreign regulators, worldwide organisations and governments, and forging close relationships with overseas law firms.

Types of work undertaken
Civil fraud/asset tracing: the acclaimed team, led by market-leading partners Keith Oliver, Jonathan Tickner, Sarah Gabriel, Jason Woodland, Emma Ruane and Vlad Meerovich enjoys a formidable reputation both in the UK and internationally for the breadth and depth of its expertise, acting for both claimants and defendants. It has extensive experience in applications for emergency remedies within and outside the UK. Its parallel sanctions expertise enables it to undertake civil fraud and criminal/regulatory litigation in tandem. The team conducts internal investigations for corporations.

Commercial litigation/arbitration: complex international commercial litigation and arbitration and contentious sports law disputes are widely recognised as one of the firm’s core strengths. Recent cases include contentious trust litigation, contractual disputes and corporate bankruptcy and related insolvency. Each of the team’s partners has acted in high-profile, complex and significant commercial disputes in recent years. The team has acted in claims surrounding Formula 1, and for the Department of Health and the NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service in various private competition law damages claims against major pharmaceutical companies, as well as in arbitrations both domestic and international.

Business crime: acting for both corporate and individual clients, the firm’s long-standing experience and pre-eminence in commercial fraud and regulatory issues is universally acknowledged.

Anti-bribery/corruption: the firm has been involved in many significant cases of the last 50 years. Partner Neil Swift is also a contributing author of Blackstone’s Guide to the Bribery Act (2010).

Economic sanctions: the firm advises national and multinational companies on transactional matters and corporate compliance. It also acts for governments, corporates and individuals facing sanctions imposed by the UN, EU and individual states. Winner of ‘Sanctions Law Firm of the Year, Europe’ 2015, the firm recently acted for a high-profile Russian national facing both US and EU sanctions. The firm also brought the most complex sanctions challenge ever brought before the EU General Court on behalf of 123 Zimbabwean individuals and entities, and is very active with multiple clients facing sanctions relating to Egypt and Iran. Michael O’Kane is the co-author of the leading EU sanctions blog at www.europeansanctions.com.

Criminal antitrust (cartels): the firm has acted for more individuals in national and international criminal cartel investigations than any other UK law firm. Cases include auto parts, BA/Virgin, air cargo, marine hose, DRAM and construction. Michael O’Kane is the author and Jasvinder Nakhwal a contributing author of The Law of Criminal Cartels and Procedure (OUP), the seminal work on this subject.

Extradition/international mutual legal assistance: the team, led by Jasvinder Nakhwal, has acted in many of the leading extradition cases of recent years, often from Russia or CIS jurisdictions. Such cases include acting for former Yukos executives, Evgeny Chichvarkin and the Hermitage Group.

Private prosecutions: Peters & Peters has a proven track record in bringing and defending private prosecutions. It represented an interested party in Haigh v Westminster Magistrates’ Court [2017] EWHC 559 (Admin), successfully resisting an attempt by the claimant to overturn a six-figure costs award made against him following his abandoning an application for summonses. In 2014, Peters & Peters brought what is believed to be the largest private prosecution of an individual ever seen in this country: the case of R v Somaia, at the Central Criminal Court, which resulted in nine convictions for obtaining a money transfer by deception, contrary to s15A Theft Act 1968 (as amended), with a total value of US$19.7m.

Other areas of expertise: HMRC inquiries and investigations; financial regulation/ data protection/freedom of information; regulatory and corporate governance matters; policy-making and crisis management.