Will Hayes

Will is a Managing Associate in the White Collar Crime and Investigations team, with expertise in fraud, bribery, money laundering, INTERPOL and extradition, acting for both individuals and corporates. He is an expert on the law of legal privilege.

He has experience dealing with all the main investigation and prosecution authorities, including the Serious Fraud Office, HMRC and the National Crime Agency, for a wide range of white-collar and financial crime offences. He also has expertise in proceeds of crime cases, including confiscation, account freezing orders, forfeiture and other civil recovery matters. He has conducted large-scale internal investigations on behalf of companies and other organisations, looking into allegations of fraud, money laundering, regulatory breaches, sexual misconduct in the workplace and human rights abuses.

Will has extensive experience assisting clients with INTERPOL cases, particularly challenging Red Notices, as well as acting in extradition proceedings, particularly in respect of allegations of white-collar and financial crime. He also has experience of dealing with mutual legal assistance requests and other cases with an international dimension.

Will is an expert on the law of LPP and is the co-author of ‘Legal Professional Privilege in Criminal Investigations and Proceedings’, published by Oxford University Press in 2024. He regularly advises on complex privilege issues in a wide range of cases, including in areas outside criminal law, and has delivered training on the subject on behalf of the Law Society and to members of the Criminal Bar Association, among others.

Will is ranked as 'Up and Coming' in the field of extradition by Chambers & Partners and is recommended by Doyles in the category of white-collar crime and investigations.

Key Experience

• Acted for a businessman in account forfeiture proceedings relating to more than £10m in personal and company bank accounts. The case was resolved by way of a negotiated settlement agreement with the investigating authority.
• Represented the CEO of a company prosecuted for a multi-million pound fraud on investors and VAT fraud. This followed a five-year HMRC investigation which Will dealt with from the outset. Will also dealt with confiscation proceedings and a successful appeal against sentence in the Court of Appeal.
• Represented a professional prosecuted for allegedly defrauding insurance companies and forging evidence to conceal the fraud. The case culminated in a three-week trial and involved complex issues requiring expert evidence.
• A number of cases involving US extradition requests for fraud, bribery, other financial crime and sanctions violations.
• Numerous successful applications for deletion of INTERPOL Red Notices issued by a range of countries for white-collar crime offences, including high profile and politically sensitive cases.
• Led part of a large-scale internal investigation examining allegations against a high profile, global organisation. Will was responsible for the investigation into allegations of human rights abuses and fraud in one of the countries in which the organisation operated.
• Advised a media organisation on export control breaches and assisted with a self-report to HMRC, resulting in a decision not to prosecute.
• Conducted an internal investigation on behalf of a law firm into alleged criminal and regulatory breaches, including money laundering offences.

Career History 

Managing Associate, Mishcon de Reya LLP
Legal Director, Kingsley Napley LLP
Senior Associate, Kingsley Napley LLP
Associate, Kingsley Napley LLP
Pupil Barrister, 23 Essex Street