Kathryn is a specialist in civil fraud, heads the Firm’s Fraud Defence Department and is renowned for the successful pursuit or defence of serious fraud allegations. The hallmark of her practice is comprehensive strategic advice to anyone facing a civil claim while being investigated at the same time by prosecution agencies, Inland Revenue, regulators or employers.

A testimony to her skills is the number of highly sensitive cases she is called upon to deal with. Some examples that can be mentioned are: representing an international property investment group and a number of its Directors who are all vigorously defending multiple claims of allegations of deceit, fraud by bribery, dishonest assistance, breach of confidence and unlawful conspiracy to injure. Kathryn also recently led teams of international lawyers in advising several City of London bankers in proceedings brought by the overseas regulators.

She is a director of the Fraud’s Women’s Network (FWN), a co-founder of the Firm’s Criminal Law Panel and has been a Partner since 2004.
 

key experience

• Acting for an individual against his former tax advisers, which included obtaining a freezing order, disclosure order and Norwich Pharmacal relief against a corporate trust entity in the Isle of Man.
• Acted for a major credit card company in recovering the proceeds of a substantial fraud. Obtaining Norwich Pharmacal relief against a number of banks and successfully tracing into the proceeds of the fraud and assets purchased with the proceeds; including several high value sports cars. Procuring the release money and the sports cars restrained under a Proceeds of Crime Act restraint order.
• Acting for a foreign national in securing the return of funds which had been improperly seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act by HMRC.
• Advising a City of London banker in defending civil proceedings brought by the Bank to recover substantial bonuses paid by the Bank for alleged misconduct, deceit and breach of contract and in the parallel investigation by the Financial Services Authority. The allegations concerned the pricing of sophisticated financial products. The proceedings were successfully settled.
• Acted for a number of individuals seeking the return of money and other valuable property seized by various regulatory or criminal authorities both in the UK and overseas, including Switzerland, Nigeria and Denmark.
• Advised several City of London bankers in proceedings brought by the Italian regulator. Leading teams of international lawyers.
• Acted for a high street manufacturer and retailer of jewellery. Obtained a freezing, asset preservation, disclosure and delivery up order against ex-employees, employees and others who had stolen money, stock, confidential information and set up a competing business. Achieved Judgment at the earliest opportunity, third party debt orders, charging orders and significant cost orders against all the defendants.
• Acted for private equity investment companies and an Administrative Receiver. Achieved innovative Interlocutory Orders allowing the companies whose ownership was in dispute to trade (by virtue of a Court appointed Board of Directors) whilst proceedings were extant. A successful Strike Out Judgment was obtained against the two main Defendants (who had asset stripped the companies and by virtue of an illegal share allotment had awarded control to themselves) to return control of the companies to their clients, damages and Costs Orders. The proceedings were successfully settled with all the Defendants.
• Acted for a senior executive summarily dismissed on spurious grounds of dishonesty and/or gross misconduct. Successfully negotiated a substantial financial award for the client and a full written retraction of the dishonesty allegations after actively pursuing claims in the High Court and Employment Tribunal.
• Kathryn has a wealth of experience in executing and defending Search Orders and is regularly instructed as a Supervising Solicitor.

career history

Partner, Mishcon de Reya
Partner, Peters & Peters
Assistant, Peters & Peters
Assistant, Biddle & Co
Qualified, Birkbeck Montagu