Farleys’ Head of Fraud and Business Crime has achieved a landmark 10 consecutive years of being ranked as a leading lawyer. The 2013 Chambers and Partners Guide to the legal profession, released last week, saw Paul Schofield achieve a 10th consecutive listing, firmly securing his place amongst the top lawyers in the country for this area of work. In addition to Paul being recognised as a ‘leading individual’ in the guide, Farleys have also been ranked in ‘Band 1’ for criminal work in the North West.
Commenting on the ranking, Paul said:
“It is of course a huge honour to be ranked again in the top tier for criminal work amongst the leading lawyers in the UK and for the more specialised fraud and business crime work. I know that the research carried out is very thorough and is based upon the opinions of fellow lawyers and clients so that makes it very special indeed.
“Our department has developed significantly over the past 10 years – we now have one of the best criminal practices in the North West, and our serious fraud and business crime team handles cases not only locally, but nationally and internationally”.
The criminal department at Farleys operates both a general crime practice, including a 24 hour 365 days a year on call scheme, and a separate unit dedicated to complex and business crime work.
Operating out of offices in Manchester city centre and Lancashire, Farleys’ Fraud and Business Crime team advise on all types of corporate crime and regulatory matters including FSA investigations, professional disciplinary proceedings, carousel fraud and money laundering. In the past 12 months, the department have handled some of the UK’s biggest cases, including an alleged fraud worth in excess of £160 million, Operation Inertia – the largest ever carousel VAT fraud of its kind in the UK, and a £26 million duty evasion case.
Paul further commented:
“The fact that we have been ranked in the Chambers guide for 10 years is a testament to the quality of work undertaken by my hardworking and dedicated team. This is a real recognition of their work.”
For more information, or to speak to a solicitor specialising in fraud cases, please don’t hesitate to contact a member of the Fraud and Business Crime team.