2. Bark and Co: The Firms
http://www.chambersandpartners.com/UK/Firms/670
01-45155
Senior Partner: Giles Bark-Jones
Partners: 1
Assistants: 29
Other fee-earners: 19
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.
4. It has also established itself as a leader in the field of
cash and asset recovery in both criminal and civil
courts.
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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. For more information, please see our website.
Areas of Practice
· White-Collar Crime/Fraud: 85%
· General Crime: 15%
