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Lawyers

Michael O"Kane

Michael O"Kane

Work Department

Domestic and international business crime and regulation.

Position

Senior Partner and Head of the Business Crime Department. He specialises in international sanctions, criminal cartel investigations, corruption, extradition, and serious fraud investigations. Has successfully represented many individual and corporate clients facing investigations in the UK, the US and other jurisdictions. Headline cases include: acting for a main suspect in the
Malaysian 1MDB corruption investigations, acting for a CEO in the Petrobras investigation, acting for leading EU company in a significant corruption investigation; successfully leading the largest private prosecution case brought by an individual in the UK; acting for multiple Zimbabwean, Egyptian and Russian entities and individuals in judicial challenges to the EU sanctions regime; acting for a senior executive in the SFO Barclays/Qatar investigation; representing a multinational company in the global car parts cartel; successfully representing two British Airways executives in the CMA price-fixing trial; acting for the first individual to be charged with the UK cartel offence. Previous experience as a senior prosecutor of high profile and complex criminal cases. Consistently highlighted as a leading authority in Business Crime in leading legal directories, Michael was also nominated as Legal Innovator of The Year in The Financial Times Lawyer Awards 2011, is Winner of the GCR Competition Law Article of the Year Award 2012, listed in the global top ten investigative lawyers and leads the firm's sanctions practice that was awarded the 2015 EU Sanctions Law Firm of the Year by World ECR. Michael co-writes a blog on European Sanctions Law at www.europeansanctions.com.

Career

Pupillage at Criminal Bar 1992-93; Crown Prosecution Service (Greenwich) 1994-99; Crown Prosecution Service (Casework Directorate) 1999-2002; Peters & Peters 2002 to date; partner 2004. Senior Partner 2016.

Memberships

Former co-chair of the IBA’s Business Crime Committee; member American Bar Association; Competition Lawyers Association.

Education

St Columb’s College, Derry; Manchester Metropolitan University (1991); Inns of Court School of Law (1992).

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