Litigation in UK. Edmonds Marshall McMahon is a unique firm of solicitors and barristers with an unrivalled track record in conducting private prosecutions, as well as civil litigation. The three founding partners have a combined total of 70 years’ experience in criminal justice and they use this background to offer a novel service to victims of crime – that is, of course, the ability to bring a private prosecution. We also have leading civil fraud and trust practitioners who are recognised internationally as at the forefront of civil fraud, trust and asset tracing work.
As you may know, the majority of prosecutions in England and Wales are conducted by public agencies, including the Crown Prosecution Service (“CPS”) and Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”). However, the right of to pursue a private prosecution is expressly preserved by section 6(1) of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 – under this section, any person or entity that has “legal personality” has the right to bring a prosecution. It is this statutory power which Edmonds Marshall McMahon relies on to represent its clients.
In light of funding cuts to the criminal justice system over the last decade, and the consequential lack of resourcing, private prosecutions are more important than ever – this private mechanism allows individuals and companies to access justice that is otherwise inaccessible through traditional avenues. While we privately prosecute the full range of offences under the criminal law, we have particular expertise in fraud, corporate dishonesty and financial crime.
Civil fraud litigation also offers powerful remedies to locate, freeze and retrieve assets from fraudsters and those to whom they have transferred the proceeds of fraud. These can include worldwide freezing injunctions, entitling a claimant’s legal team to search premises and IT systems for evidence that is at risk of being improperly destroyed or tampered with. We undertake civil fraud, trust and asset tracing work and collaborate with other specialist firms where this is in our client’s best interests.
Alongside our lawyers, we have a dedicated investigations team comprising former SFO investigators and detectives from the Metropolitan Police. We work closely with our firm’s investigators to gather the best evidence to take cases forward. We do not believe in a “one size fits all” approach to cases and pride ourselves on our imaginative and speedy solutions, which yield exceptional results for our clients.
