Macfarlanes LLP

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

• ‘With their broad commercial and private client base they are very well based to provide advice to corporates under investigation from an early stage. Adept at internal investigations as well as fighting of prosecutions. Well-resourced and reasonable on fees. A diverse staff for years.’

• ‘Neil Blundell, charming but tough as nails under the charm. An effective negotiator but a tough and seasoned defender. Helen Harvey, a real star in the making, no stone left unturned and a great lawyer.’

• ‘Macfarlanes are undoubtedly one of the leading sanctions teams in the country and are especially good at work in involving interacting with regulators. Very strong at an associate level & know their way around the relevant regulations.’

• ‘Neill Blundell - a very smooth operator, reassuring with clients and knows everyone who matters. Not a sanctions specialist himself but has a good team under him & can delegate effectively. Francis Bond comes from a policy background & has an in depth understanding of sanctions regulations. Commercially astute & with a good eye for what will wash with the regulators.’

• ‘Neill Blundell: a Tier One lawyer and Tier One human being.'

• 'Lorna Emson: straddles the crossover between civil, criminal and regulatory investigations seamlessly.'
• 'Francis Bond: one of the up and coming sanctions lawyers of the moment.’

• ‘Neil Blundell heads the team and has brought a combination of effortless charm and ruthless tactical execution to the MacFarlanes brand. Max Hobbs is a skilled practitioner. Neil's background means he can effortlessly move between advising corporates and individuals and understands what motivates each stakeholder in an investigation or prosecution.’

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Key clients

Lawyers

Hall of Fame

The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.

Neill Blundell

Hall of fameWhite & Case LLP

Neill is head of the firm’s corporate crime and investigations practice. He is a specialist white collar defence and criminal investigations lawyer who advises both individuals and corporates on compliance, pre-investigations, investigations and prosecutions conducted by agencies such as the SFO, FCA, CMA, HMRC, NCA, Civil Aviation Authority and the CPS. He also assists in multi-jurisdictional investigations involving agencies such as the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the FIOD (Netherlands), the US Department of Justice, the US Securities & Exchange Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Neill has significant experience of acting for clients (both corporates and individuals) facing criminal investigations and prosecutions. He has been involved in some of the highest profile bribery investigations into BAE, Rolls-Royce and Airbus, as well as benchmark rigging (LIBOR) and the investigation into Barclays regarding the 2008 fund raising. He is also an expert on building anti-fraud, anti-bribery and Criminal Finance Act compliance programmes and in providing the training for clients in anti-fraud and culture awareness. Neill is a qualified solicitor-advocate.