Regulatory cases can affect a professional’s ability to practise, a director’s position, and an organisation’s operations. Some also carry the risk of criminal prosecution, financial penalties or confiscation proceedings. We understand that the risks to a hard-won reputation, even of an investigation, cannot be underestimated.
Members of 36 Crime defend professionals, directors, and businesses and act for prosecuting authorities. Our work includes advice on internal processes, internal investigations, early engagement with regulators, written representations to head off proceedings, disciplinary hearings, statutory tribunals, and appeals.
Because members continue to conduct serious criminal cases, the team is also able to deal with instructions in which regulatory action is connected with criminal allegations, an inquest, a public inquiry, financial offending, or the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
Areas of expertise
• Financial and corporate investigations
• Financial services regulation
• Medicines law
• Professional discipline and fitness to practise
• Police misconduct proceedings
• Health and safety investigations and prosecutions
• Workplace and transport fatalities
• Environmental enforcement
• Consumer protection and trading standards
• Food safety, hygiene and labelling
• Fire safety regulations
• Animal health and welfare
• Financial and corporate investigations
• Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings, confiscation and account forfeiture
• Inquests, public inquiries and connected proceedings
Professional discipline and fitness to practise
Members represent professionals in cases concerning conduct, competence, health, and fitness to practise.
Members have acted in cases involving nurses, midwives, doctors, paramedics, police officers, solicitors, teachers, accountants, athletes and coaches. That work includes matters before the Nursing and Midwifery Council, General Medical Council, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, the Football Association, the Cricket Regulator, the Rugby Football Union, Health and Care Professions Council, General Optical Council and Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, together with Solicitors Regulation Authority and Teaching Regulation Agency investigations and Bar disciplinary cases.
The team can assist with:
• Responses to complaints, referrals and requests for information
• Interim orders and restrictions on practice
• Fitness-to-practise and misconduct hearings
• Cases arising from criminal convictions or allegations
• Reviews and appeals
• Connected employer, regulatory and criminal proceedings
Police misconduct proceedings
The team includes barristers appointed as legally qualified chairs and legal advisers in police misconduct hearings. Members also act in cases where allegations against an officer give rise to both disciplinary, civil, and criminal issues.
Members are familiar with the decisions that may need to be made about interviews, disclosure, admissions and witness evidence when more than one process is under way.
Health and safety and workplace fatalities
Members accept health and safety instructions for companies and individuals, including prosecutions brought by the Health and Safety Executive and local authorities.
Cases undertaken by members have involved deaths in the workplace and transport industry, organisational systems, the responsibility of individuals and companies, and technical or expert evidence. Members accept instructions during an investigation and in contested court proceedings.
Environmental enforcement
Members prosecute and defend environmental cases brought by the Environment Agency and local authorities.
Cases undertaken by members include waste left at risk to land and water, the unlawful disposal of asbestos, planning enforcement, environmental trading standards and confiscation following environmental offending.
Consumer law, trading standards and food safety
Members act for local authorities, companies and individuals in consumer protection and trading standards cases. Their work covers:
• Fraudulent and unfair trading
• Food safety, hygiene and labelling
• Fire safety regulations
• Animal health and welfare
• Illegal street trading
• Product and consumer protection offences
• Confiscation following regulatory convictions
The team also includes contributors to practitioner texts on consumer and trading standards law, food safety and food labelling.
Financial and corporate investigations
Members have undertaken work connected with HMRC investigations, bribery, money laundering, tax and VAT fraud, directors’ disqualification, and POCA.
The work undertaken includes advice and early engagement, production orders, search warrants, disclosure, legal professional privilege reviews, account forfeiture, and confiscation. These instructions can involve financial records, digital material and large volumes of documents.
Inquests, public inquiries and connected proceedings
Some regulatory instructions are connected with a criminal case, internal or employment process, civil claim, inquest, or public inquiry.
Members can advise on the evidence and disclosure issues created by those connected proceedings, including the use of witness accounts and admissions in more than one forum.
Members also sit as chairs, panel members and legal advisers in disciplinary tribunals.
Contact
For further information or to discuss instructing counsel, please contact the 36 Crime clerks:
clerks@36crime.co.uk
+44 (0)20 7421 8007