Kingsley Napley

This Practice Note, produced in partnership with Iain Miller and Jessica Clay of Kingsley Napley, covers the role, objectives, powers and enforcement strategy of the Solicitors Regulation Authority. It sets out the areas most likely to attract the SRA’s attention, common breaches and considers when and how to self-report to the SRA and what to do if the SRA starts an investigation.

This Practice Note explains the powers of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in conducting investigatory interviews under caution, voluntarily or compulsorily. It explains the power to compel production of documents and the penalty for failing to comply. The Practice Note includes information on the exception for legally privileged documents.

This Practice Note covers the law on hospitality and promotional expenditure. It includes the corporate response to hospitality and promotional expenditure, the offences that can be committed in relation to it, government and prosecutorial guidance. It covers what the norms and standards are in relation to hospitality and promotional expenditure, what is lavish expenditure, what is connected with legitimate business, what is concealed expenditure and what you should do if you suspect an offence has been committed.

This Practice Note explains the issues relating to legal professional privilege which arise in cross-border criminal investigations and the practical steps which should be taken to protect legal professional privilege in multi-jurisdictional criminal investigations.

This Practice Note explains how the principles of legal professional privilege (LPP) apply in a criminal context. It explains the different categories of legal professional privilege, legal advice privilege and litigation privilege, and how these key concepts apply in criminal investigations and proceedings. This Practice Note also considers the impact of the decisions in SFO v ENRC, HSE v Jukes and R (on the application of Jet2.Com Ltd) v CAA on the dominant purpose test in litigation privilege and legal advice privilege and what constitutes ‘reasonable prospect of litigation’ in litigation privilege in criminal investigations. It also considers the difference in the protections afforded by legal advice privilege as opposed to litigation privilege in criminal proceedings.

This Practice Note explains the scope and impact of the crime-fraud exception (iniquity exception) to legal professional privilege (LPP) and explains where this might be relevant during corporate crime investigations. It explains what constitutes a ‘criminal purpose’ and ‘iniquity’ in these circumstances and the application of the crime-fraud exception to both legal advice privilege and litigation privilege. It also covers the 'dominant purpose test' and the iniquity exception, and explains how the exception could arise in a criminal investigation as well as covert powers and the iniquity exception.

This Practice Note explains how legal professional privilege (LPP) can be maintained for clients during the course of a criminal investigation including during dawn raids, during regulator searches and during interviews under caution and compelled interviews. The steps to be taken during internal investigations to preserve privilege (legal advice privilege and litigation privilege) are highlighted and privilege issues to consider when advising and preparing internal investigation reports into suspected criminal breaches are also included.

This Practice Note explains the offence of making misleading statements under section 89 of the Financial Services Act 2012 (FSA 2012). It deals with the elements of the offence, jurisdiction, statutory defences and sentencing.

This Practice Note explains the scope of privilege against self-incrimination. It covers when privilege against self-incrimination may be raised in criminal proceedings and inquests and the practical considerations when advising clients during criminal investigations, interviews and during criminal hearings.

When clients are facing time in prison, they can feel overwhelmed or daunted. This Practice Note is designed to be a speaking aid to assist practitioners when advising a client as to a possible custodial sentence. It points the practitioner to relevant detailed guidance and enables a practitioner to discuss with their client what will happen if they receive a custodial term. This Practice Note explains the process which is followed when an offender receives a custodial sentence on conviction. It explains the fundamental principles which apply when imprisonment is imposed, the issues lawyers need to consider before the sentencing hearing, practical steps to take on the day of sentencing and what lawyers need to tell their clients to expect when receiving a prison sentence with reference to the relevant Prison Service policy frameworks, prison service instructions (PSIs) or prison service orders (PSOs).

This Precedent is a draft letter of claim, as required by the Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols, para 6, for use by a claimant in a prospective claim against a director for breach of their director’s duties.

This Precedent is a draft letter to a client outlining some of the key considerations they should have in mind if considering applying to the court for an interim injunction. In particular, it addresses the American Cyanamid guidelines, the duty of full and frank disclosure if the application is being made without notice (or on short notice) and the cross-undertaking in damages.

fThese Precedent process agent clauses—in short form and long form—allow a party to appoint a process agent to accept service of proceedings in a named jurisdiction on its behalf and can be included in an agreement between commercial parties. It sets out the rights and obligations of the parties and provides consequences for failure of the appointing party to appoint a process agent. The process agent clause is categorised as one of the boilerplate clauses of an agreement.