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Herbert Smith Freehills is continuing to expand its leading Corporate Crime and Investigations (CC&I) practice, with the hire of Brian Spiro who joins from London litigation boutique BCL Solicitors.

Having carved out an impressive career, spanning over 30 years, Brian is lauded by industry commentators as a "star" who is "one of the elder statesmen of the criminal legal world".

He specialises in “high loss” business crime litigation, fraud and regulatory matters including Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Crown Prosecution Service and HM Revenue & Customs prosecutions and investigations.  He has expertise in international law including mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, environmental offences and breach of UN sanctions.  He is also noted for his work in advising media organisations on crime and related matters and his representation of high profile individuals.

After a period as a parliamentary adviser, working in the House of Commons, Brian trained as a solicitor with Clifford Chance and Simons Muirhead & Burton, in London.  He qualified as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England & Wales in 1984 and was made a partner of Simons Muirhead & Burton in 1986 where he stayed until joining BCL as a partner in 2001.

Over the past 30-years, Brian has been involved in many of the leading business crime investigations and prosecutions in the UK, U.S. and beyond. He is the immediate past Chair of the International Bar Association’s Business Crime Committee and was Chair of the London Criminal Court Solicitors’ Association (LCCSA)'s sub-committee on reform of the law against bribery and corruption. He was also a member of the Law Society’s sub-committee and Chair of the LCCSA's sub-committee, responding to the UK government's proposals on fraud law reform.

He is the lead author of the Police Station Adviser’s Index (a practitioners’ textbook on police station procedures, Thomson Sweet & Maxwell), now in its 4th edition, and has acted as an international consultant to the WHO, the UN and the British Council on criminal law and related matters.

This hire comes after Herbert Smith Freehills more than doubled the size of its disputes practice in Germany, with the hire of two CC&I partners: Dr Helmut Görling and Dr Dirk Seiler; and a team of seven other lawyers and forensic experts.

It also comes just two years after Herbert Smith Freehills acted for ICBC Standard Bank on the UK’s first ever deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the SFO.

Justin D'Agostino, Global Head of Disputes and joint Managing Partner for Asia and Australia, said:  "Our global corporate crime and investigations group is one of our world class practice areas and provides on-the-ground support for clients, helping them address complex and sensitive issues across the globe.  The substantial growth in our practice in recent years reflects the fact that there continues to be a strong client demand for our expertise in this area. With the addition of Brian to our team, we will continue to be the firm that clients turn to for advice on their most complex and high-profile investigations and enforcement matters."

Brian added: "After 17 years with BCL I have decided that the time is right for me to face new challenges. I have long admired Herbert Smith Freehills for its leading global platform, which has the reputation right across the world to attract the very best instructions, and I am very excited to be joining their Corporate Crime and Investigations."