DLA Piper on winning team for Most Important Case of the Year award at the 2020 GIR Awards

DLA Piper’s Litigation & Regulation practice has been recognized at the 6th Global Investigations Review’s (GIR) annual awards, held on 22 October 2020. The firm was part of the winning team of four other firms which were awarded the prestigious ‘Most Important Case of the Year’ award for successfully defending British multinational investment bank Barclays and four of its former senior bank executives in one of the most ambitious cases in the UK Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) history.

DLA Piper defended the former head of Barclays’ wealth business, Thomas Kalaris, who was accused by the SFO of substantive fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud over undisclosed payments to Qatar Holding LLC, during the capital raisings in 2008, totaling the sum of c.GBP12.8 billion at the height of the financial crisis in June and October 2008. It involved substantial legal issues regarding privilege, the crime-fraud exception, the definition of corporate criminal liability and innocent agency and was the largest case with the highest value brought to trial by the SFO to date. It was also one of only three cases where the SFO tried to get a voluntary bill of indictment.

DLA Piper's Litigation and Regulatory team which advised on the case was led by London-based partner and Co-Chair of Global Investigations Patrick Rappo, supported by partner Laura Ford, legal director Puesan Lam, senior associate Harriett Campbell, associates Shabaz Ahmed, Katie O'Hara, Calum Ablett, trainee solicitor Joana Santos and paralegal Vivian Fischer.