Bribery Defence Solicitors

The Bribery Act 2010 was given Royal Assent in April 2010 and came into force on 1^st July 2011, the Act made it an offence for a United Kingdom citizen or resident to pay or receive a bribe. This offence can also be committed by companies or partnerships and can result in a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

Our solicitors and barristers specialise in defending businesses and individuals facing investigations and prosecutions for fraud, including allegations of bribery and corruption. Our experience of defending businesses and individuals provides us with the specialist skill and knowledge to achieve the best possible outcome. If you or your business is facing an investigation or prosecution for corruption or bribery, call our private criminal defence solicitors on 03308189847 or complete our Contact Form.

The Bribery Act 2010

The Act sets out several definitions of bribery, targeting both the payer and the recipient. The offence can be committed even if the act took place outside the UK, if the party to the bribe has a close connection to the UK.

The Act makes it a criminal offence if:

• A person bribes another person – Section 1
• A person requests, agrees to receive or accepts a bribe – Section 2
• A person bribes a foreign public official – Section 6
• A commercial organisation fails to prevent bribery – Section 7

Failure of Commercial Organisations to Prevent Bribery

The most contentious part of the legislation is that an offence can also be committed by an organisation, if a person associated with the commercial organisation commits any of the first three offences with the consent or involvement of a senior officer. A commercial organisation will however have a statutory defence if it can prove that it had in place adequate procedures designed to prevent bribery.

When Should You Contact Our Specialist Criminal Solicitors?

If you are suspected of committing a criminal offence and have been asked to attend the police station or have recently been charged, please contact us as soon as possible. Seeking legal advice at an early stage will significantly increase the prospects of a successful outcome and will ensure that your defence is properly established from the outset. Contacting us at an early stage of the investigation or immediately after charge will enable us to advise you of the cost of representation, how you ought to plead and the options available to you.

What Will Happen When You Contact Us?

When you call us regarding your case, you will be transferred to one of our Private Criminal Defence Solicitors and we will take some initial details regarding the allegation made against you. Once we have a basic understanding of the allegation, and your version of events we will be able to provide you with our initial thoughts on the options available to you and how we can assist.

We will also provide you with an indication of the likely cost to defend your case and will provide you with a fixed fee for appointing us as your legal team.

As such matters can be life changing, we cannot provide any detailed advice on how you should plead, and the strength of your case during the initial phone call. Detailed advice will be provided once we are formally instructed as your lawyers and once we have considered the evidence in the case.

Funding Your Case

If you are facing a criminal investigation or prosecution, you should seek out the very best lawyers to defend your case, so that you have the best chance of a successful outcome. Our solicitors and barristers are highly experienced and recognised nationally for successfully defending a significant number of high-profile criminal prosecutions throughout England and Wales.

As a specialist private funded criminal defence law firm, we represent clients that are in a financial position to fund their cases privately, as a result our clients do not qualify for Public Funding (Legal Aid) and for that reason we do not undertake any work on Legal Aid.

Our Private Legal Defence Lawyers accept new cases on a Fixed Fee basis, ensuring that our clients know exactly how much their case will cost from the outset.

Private legal representation is not only reserved for the wealthy, many of our clients are ordinary people that require a robust defence team to provide them with the best chance of protecting their reputation and career. If you require more information on the cost of defending your case, speak to one of our solicitors for a free no obligation fee estimate.