2. Senior Partner: Giles Bark-Jones
Partners: 1
Assistants: 29
Other fee-earners: 19
For more information, please see our website.
Areas of Practice
· White-Collar Crime/Fraud: 85%
· General Crime: 15%

3. THE FIRM Bark & Co is one of the UK’s leading fraud and
business crime firms. The firm’s highly-skilled lawyers are
committed to providing expert advice at every stage of
proceedings. The firm’s principal aims are to avoid expensive
litigation whenever possible and to fight tenaciously to protect
its clients’ interests.
Established in 1996 by Giles Bark-Jones, Bark & Co has
developed into one of the Country’s most progressive and
successful fraud firms. A founder member of the Specialist Fraud
Panel, the firm specialises in commercial and criminal fraud as
well as serious crime, business and tax regulation, tax
investigations and corporate obligations associated with health
and safety enforcement. The firm acts for private individuals as
well as national and international companies. It has also
established itself as a leader in the field of cash and asset
recovery in both criminal and civil courts.

4. Bark & Co prides itself on the individual expertise of its
lawyers, the collective strength of its specialist teams and their
skill in tailoring advice to match each client’s individual
circumstances. Bark & Co’s rigorous commitment to quality of
advice and personalised service has lead to significant work
through referrals by both clients and other leading law firms.
PRINCIPAL AREAS OF WORK Bark & Co handles a wide range
of high-profile white-collar crime and fraud cases, including
prosecutions and investigations brought by the Serious
Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), HM Revenue & Customs, the
Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the Financial Services Authority
(FSA), the Special Compliance Office of the Inland Revenue, the
Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Trading Standards and other
prosecuting bodies.

5. Corporate & Commercial Fraud: Bark & Co became a member
of the Serious Fraud Panel at its inception and is a member of
the Very High Costs Cases panel (VHCC) qualified to deal with
the most complex of criminal matters.Acknowledged as one of
the leaders in the field of corporate and commercial fraud, the
firm has defended against many of the major prosecutions
brought by the SFO and other government agencies. It has
acknowledged experts in VAT and duties tribunal work, tax
regulation, defence of duty evasion, moneylaundering and
carousel fraud, as well as mortgage fraud, investment
fraud, corruption, pension fund fraud, telecoms
fraud, theft, fraudulent trading by company directors and
Internet fraud. Dedicated teams also deal with confiscation and
post- and pre-charge restraint proceedings.

6. Recent important cases include instructions in a high profile and
politically sensitive FSA prosecution of directors (iSoft) in
relation to the new NHS IT system and the defence of the
Directors of a Carbon Trading company in an £85m fraud. Other
cases include the defence of two Directors of a specialist division
of Vantis PLC in a highly publicised case of alleged tax relief
fraud. Bark & Co also represents a Managing Director of a
prominent international bank involved in alleged insider
trading; this is part of an unprecedented and high profile
crackdown on fraud by the FSA and SOCA; Bark & Co are
defending in another FSA prosecution of an alleged 11-handed
insider dealing fraud involving two prominent investment banks
and also defended in R v Law, Roberts & Harvey, another high
profile SFO prosecution concerning fraudulent trading at a
subsidiary of Alfred McAlpine PLC.

7. Criminal: Bark & Co continues to act in high-profile criminal
trials, including cases of murder, money laundering, drugs
importations, armed robbery and people-smuggling. The firm
focuses on high-end work, often involving crime across
international boundaries and jurisdictions.
The firm's wide ranging portfolio of cases includes the ongoing
high-profile case of a private investigator murdered over 22 years
ago in a London pub car park. A total of five separate
investigations have been launched, involving tens of thousands
of hours of police work and utilising long-term intrusive
undercover surveillance.
Bark & Co also advise private individuals and national and
international companies facing investigation or criminal
proceedings as a result of beaches of the Health and Safety
Act, taking cases from pre-charge interviews through to trial.