Sarah Wood

Sarah is Joint Head of the Business Crime Team at 5SAH and is ranked in The Legal 500 for confiscation and asset recovery and Chambers & Partners for asset recovery and financial crime, private prosecutions. She has won Financial Crime Junior at the UK Bar Legal Awards 2023.

Sarah practises in business crime, asset recovery, civil fraud & confiscation, crime, extradition & international, family and professional discipline & regulatory law.

Sarah is Joint Head of the Business Crime Team at 5SAH and is ranked in both Chambers & Partners and the Legal 500 for her confiscation and asset recovery work. Sarah is ranked as a Tier 1 leading junior barrister in the Legal 500. Sarah is also recognised in Chambers & Partners in Financial Crime - Private Prosecutions spotlight table. Sarah is nominated for her work in Financial Crime at The Legal 500 Bar Awards 2023.

She is an experienced and highly accomplished practitioner who specialises in criminal and family matters involving high-value assets and complex financial arrangements. In her criminal work, she is a well-respected jury advocate known for her experience of prosecuting and defending lengthy, complex, high-value fraud and money laundering cases. Sarah has a loyal following of leading solicitors and is regularly instructed to defend in cases brought by the SFO, the FCA and the CPS Specialist Fraud Division. She is renowned for her ability to master substantial and multifaceted issues.

Sarah has experience in all aspects of the financial proceedings that follow a divorce or separation; her knowledge and experience of international asset-tracing and complex offshore trust arrangements gained through her criminal work give her a distinct advantage in this area of work.

She is one of a handful of counsel at the Bar with demonstrable experience of dealing with cases where there are contemporaneous proceedings in the criminal and family courts in relation to the same assets and is therefore able to advise clients and appear in all aspects of both sets of proceedings.

Sarah regularly writes and speaks on all areas of her work.

What the legal directories say about Sarah Wood:

‘ Without a shadow of a doubt one of the best barristers I have ever worked with. Sarah is incredibly hard-working, knowledgeable and always goes the extra mile to assist both me and my clients. Nothing ever seems to faze Sarah and she is always at the end of a phone should I need to speak with her. Sarah has an excellent manner with clients and always works tirelessly to achieve the best possible outcome. ’

The Legal 500 2022

‘She is a superb lawyer and sees points of admissibility that others do not. The best of her generation in terms of effort and ability. As an advocate she is direct, calm and makes the point really effectively.’

"An incredibly gifted, very intelligent person who is very capable in financial crime and POCA work."

Chambers and Partners 2021 & 2020.

‘She is a superb lawyer and sees points of admissibility that others do not. The best of her generation in terms of effort and ability.'

'As an advocate she is direct, calm and makes the point really effectively.’

'She has a forensic eye for detail.'

The Legal 500 2021 & 2020.