David Corker comments on the SFO’s use of external barristers in The Times

Partner David Corker comments on the significant use of external counsel by the Serious Fraud Office, and how this can potentially ‘sink a case if not done well’, published in The Times.

Fraud specialists expressed concern over the significant use of external counsel. David Corker, a partner at Corker Binning, the London firm, pointed out that two reports last year into the SFO had exposed “an almost complete reliance on hordes of self- employed junior barristers to perform the task of scheduling and assessing the unused material in an ongoing prosecution”.

 

Corker described “this contracting out” of disclosure functions as “deeply troubling” since it involved “an inescapable prosecutorial responsibility which will sink a case if not done well”. Other critics have argued that disclosure is not treated as a priority and instead is regarded as “drudge” work.

Click here to read the full article [£]: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/serious-fraud-office-spends-millions-on-specialist-outside-barristers-lc0t5h3tw