Janes Solicitors
janes-solicitors.co.ukjanes-solicitors.co.ukLawyers
Alex Chapman
Crime
David Janes
Senior Partner of Janes Solicitors.
David is exceptionally highly regarded in the profession and one of the leading and most experienced criminal lawyers. He is considered to be ‘a brilliant tactician’ and has been involved in a number of the highest profile cases and leading authorities. David is continuously highly ranked in Chambers & Partners and the Legal 500.
David has an unrivalled reputation in the field of serious and complex fraud and cases involving direct and indirect taxation. He has successfully represented clients in the most complex and difficult of cases many of which have attracted national media interest – such as his client’s acquittal in the Libor case.
He also specialises in defending allegations of bribery and corruption, alleged corporate offences, and all aspects relating to the proceeds of crime. He is experienced in regulatory matters and civil recovery.
Notable cases: Preddie (leading mortgage case), Operation Elveden (Deputy Editor of The Sun), SFO v Allied Deals Metal, Olympic ticket case, Fergal Lynch a defendant in the “horse racing trial of the century", R-v-Lunn (Operation Edgewood), GP Noble pension case, Operation Crystallite (major tax avoidance re: film investment scheme – 2 defendants), R-v-Goodman & others (acquittal of broker in Libor fixing scandal), Operation Aquamarine (£40 million mortgage fraud against well known banking institutes), Operation Amazon (largest HMRC prosecution – income tax deferral in R&D carbon credit scheme), Operation Lunar (dismissal of charges in complex tax scheme prosecution against ex partner of KPMG in Zeus tax scheme alleging £300 million tax avoidance), representing 9 senior executives in the SFO Rolls Royce investigation.
Fiona Gavriel
Fiona is a senior criminal litigation lawyer specialising in and with extensive experience of complex business, white collar and general crime. She has led large teams of solicitors in numerous high profile and media featured cases brought by the SFO, HMRC, CPS, FCA, Trading Standards and more recently the Metropolitan Police War Crimes Unit. Fiona qualified as a solicitor in 2000.
Significant cases include:
R- V- R and others (Op Amazon) Southwark Crown Court Feb 2017 – present
Successful Defence of an accountant after a ten month trial. The case took 8 years to come to trial and has been described as the most complex direct tax prosecution case ever brought by HMRC. The case has afforded unprecedented insight into the workings and deficiencies of HMRC’s disclosure process as regards e-disclosure.
R- V- JWW and others July 2017
Successful defence of the director of a major independent brewery who faced three counts of cheating the public revenue. The charges related to the alleged non-payment of tax by the company. The company was one of the first London microbreweries and was recently acquired by Carlsberg. The jury were directed to give not guilty verdicts following successful half time submissions of “no case to answer”.
R- v- R and others Southwark Crown Court Sept 2015 - Jan 2016
Successful defence of a broker who worked at Tullett Prebon accused of involvement in LIBOR manipulation. The client was acquitted in less than one day following a four month trial.
R- V T Central Criminal Court - Charged 1st June 2017 . Trial September 2018
Charges of “Torture” dating back to the Liberian civil war, brought by the Metropolitan Police War Crimes Unit under “Universal Jurisdiction”.
Other Notable Experience in Allegations of:
-Pension theft (Cheney Locksmiths in Birmingham)
-Horse race fixing (involving Kieran Fallon)
-Counterfeit software (Microsoft grey goods market)
-Boiler room fraud
-MTIC fraud
-Money Laundering (including a long running trial of money laundering for a Colombian drugs cartel with numerous associated trials involving a police informant).
-Large scale mortgage fraud
-Tax evasion (representing two Vantis Tax directors and their wives)
-Drugs offences (including importation and possession with intent to supply)
-Arson (resulting in hospital order)
-Fraudulent Trading (including the McAlpine owned “Welsh Slate” false invoicing case).
Relevant Work History
James Mullion
James has been a Partner at Janes since 2010. He advises clients on all aspects of fraud and regulatory matters and has a burgeoning fraud practice with both civil and criminal cases. He has been instructed to advise clients on a major privacy claims, international trust claims and a London Stock Exchange related matter. His impressive criminal practice continues to expand, advising a major witness in the phone hacking civil trial, and a high profile investigation into misappropriation of political funds. Notable cases include Operation Ventford (multi-handed conspiracy to defraud banks with losses in the millions), R v Potter, Johnson & Others (international boiler room fraud). His corporate clients include a company director being investigated for Iranian crude oil sanction-busting. His civil practice continues to expand: James was instructed on several claims against Mirror Group Newspapers arising from Operation Golding (police investigation into phone hacking) and in a similar claim against News UK Ltd. He is also advising a number of high-profile, high net worth individuals in a major sham trust and asset forfeiture application.
Robert Berg
Partner representing clients in major criminal prosecutions including fraud, murder and money – laundering and drug trafficking. Notable cases: successful defence of Nicholas Van Hoogstraten, Appeal of Warren Blackwell. Representing a victim in the Grenfell inquiry. Instructed in several major fraud and international bribery investigations, a trial involving large scale control of prostitutes and money laundering and a trial involving conspiracy to supply in excess of 200 kilos of cocaine. Robert is also representing clients in connection with the current SFO Rolls Royce investigation, an international investigation by French Police into the recovery of a substantial hoard of ancient gold coins and in an extradition request by France on a case involving an £8m fraud in France.
Robert is widely regarded as a litigator of great integrity with an uncompromising commitment to the interests of his clients who hold him in high esteem.
He has a solid reputation for dealing with serious crime such as high-value money laundering, international drug trafficking, murder, serious violent offences and sexual offences. Robert also has extensive experience of extradition matters, mutual legal assistance and international cooperation investigations. With over forty years’ experience in the most high-profile criminal cases, Robert is well regarded for his fierce devotion to achieving the best possible outcome for his clients and handles his cases with the upmost tactical skill. As a Higher Courts Advocate (Criminal) Robert regularly represents defendants charged with the most serious offences, has conducted jury trials and appeared before the Court of Appeal.
Robert has also completed a post-graduate course in Forensic Medicine and has featured in newspapers, TV and Radio and has contributed to write scripts for criminal dramas including the popular cult series Line of Duty.
Robert is an appointed member of the Law 100 Panel for The Times newspaper. Robert also advises individuals employed by a UK-listed company in respect of allegations of bribery and corruption and regularly deals with cases attracting national media interest.
Simon Barker
Partner practicing in all areas of criminal litigation particularly complex fraud, confiscation and money laundering proceedings. In this field Simon has achieved many important and significant results for his clients. He has established a strong reputation for being ‘extremely easy to deal with, very clear, very driven and very supportive’ (Chambers & Partners). Important cases worked upon at a senior level include: R v Wootton (the famous Jubilee Line Extension case in which the acquittal of the client was secured after a 2 year trial ); R v Jain (SFO prosecution of a highly complex billion pound metal trading fraud and ensuing confiscation proceedings in which a discontinuance was obtained for the client); R v Embleton (large scale and complex machinery financing fraud prosecution in which acquittals on all counts were obtained); R v Lewis (prosecution of a broker in a large scale mortgage fraud where a non-custodial sentence was obtained following the client’s acquittal on the large majority of counts and thereafter a confiscation order in the amount of £1 only); R v Harrold (large scale insurance industry fraud prosecution in which pressure from the defence led to the abandonment of the proceedings by the prosecution before trial); R v van Meel (Beijing Olympic ticket fraud prosecution where the case against the client was discharged mid-trial as a result of successful legal argument); R v Lunn (prosecution by HMRC of an accountant acting for thousands of clients); R v Goodman (acquittal secured of ‘Lord Libor’ in the well-publicised LIBOR brokers trial); R v Amin (acquittal of an investor in a film investment scheme in a large-scale, multi-defendant prosecution brought by HMRC).