Withers has welcomed Carl Newman and a team of associates to its London office, adding to the firm's white collar defence, regulatory and fraud practice at a time that the scrutiny of professional conduct is increasing in intensity.
Carl joins Withers from BDB Pitmans, along with a team consisting of two senior associates and a newly qualified associate.
Carl and his team have experience across white collar defence, investigation, regulatory and criminal matters and act for both individuals and corporates. He has managed proceedings and investigations involving bodies such as the Financial Conduct Authority, Prudential Regulation Authority, Serious Fraud Office, National Crime Agency and UK tax authority. Carl's practice also extends to internal investigations, public enquiries, defence side representation, extradition cases and some sanctions work.
Peter Wood, chief executive of Withers' Disputes Resolution division, comments: "Carl has been involved in cases relating to all of the convulsions felt by the financial services sector over the past two decades, as well as representing professionals across many other sectors. We are going through a period of time when, rightly or wrongly, senior people are held accountable for a wider range of business and personal issues than ever before. Executives need the backing of experienced, committed advisors who can help them navigate this high risk environment."
Carl adds: "Withers is well known for representing successful people at the forefront of their respective spheres and these individuals are at great risk of being targeted for investigation. They also face the more immediate risk of having their situation splashed across the media, and this can irreversibly damage their career before the rights and wrongs have even been verified. I look forward to working with Withers' growing international team of white collar, investigation and reputation experts to provide clients with the best possible defence and assistance."
Withers' investigations team has substantially expanded in the US and Asia over the past year with the addition of partner Christopher La Vigne, special counsel Georges Lederman and of counsel Martin Auerbach in New York, partner Amman Khan in Los Angeles and partner Chenthil Kumarasingam in Singapore all complementing the firm's existing team, which includes regulatory partner Harvey Knight in London and a white collar team in Singapore headed by Shashi Nathan.