David Corker

Consultant

"David is cerebral and unrivalled on procedural issues that may give rise to challenges that others don’t see."

THE LEGAL 500 2022

David Corker
BIOGRAPHY & EXPERTISE
David Corker is an “original thinker, very experienced and very good.” (Chambers UK 2023). According to the Legal 500 UK 2022, he is “cerebral, unrivalled on procedural issues” and “always thinks outside the box.”

He has a formidable reputation as a criminal and regulatory litigator. He is ranked as a key individual in the fields of ‘Financial Crime: Individuals’ and ‘POCA Work & Asset Forfeiture’ by Chambers and Partners UK 2023, and as a leading individual in the field of ‘Financial Crime: High Net Worth Individuals’ by Chambers HNW 2022. He is also ranked in the Hall of Fame for ‘Fraud: White-Collar Crime’ by The Legal 500 UK 2023.

David is highlighted as “absolutely fantastic” in Who’s Who Legal: Investigations 2018 and as one of the most highly regarded individuals by Who’s Who Legal for Business Crime Defence and Investigations.

 

Areas of expertise

David specialises in acting for clients implicated in criminal or regulatory investigations, many of them international.  He has many years’ experience of fraud, corruption cases and cartel investigations and also maintains a thriving general criminal practice.

David has acted for clients in almost every large criminal fraud case undertaken by the Serious Fraud Office. He has considerable experience in international criminal cases involving, for example, allegations of corruption, money laundering or cartels. In relation to Financial Conduct Authority investigations, his work has focused on alleged insider dealing, boiler room frauds and misleading the market. He has also represented clients in connection with allegations of homicide (including gross negligence manslaughter) and sexual offences.

 

Speaking engagements


David speaking about the likely impact of reform of corporate criminal liability on the SFO.


David participating in a debate about the SFO and deferred prosecution agreements with Lord Garnier (Solicitor General 2010-12 and pioneer of DPAs) and Sir David Green (Director of the SFO 2012-18).


Three extracts of David participating in a debate about trial by jury with James Hines QC, Mukul Chawla QC and Professor Cheryl Thomas of UCL.

 

 

 

WORK HIGHLIGHTS
  • Advising multiple clients being investigated or prosecuted by the SFO for fraud and bribery offences, including acting in the Tesco, JJB Sports, LIBOR and Olympus cases.
  • Conducting a corporate internal investigation into suspected bribery at a pharmaceuticals company.
  • Acting for a number of individuals who are the subject of hostile FCA criminal and regulatory investigations, including a senior banking figure implicated in the FX scandal.
  • Acting in most of the recent and current investigations by the OFT/CMA into alleged cartel activity.
  • Acting for celebrities and politicians in relation to historic sex abuse allegations.
  • Acting for journalists concerning phone-hacking allegations.
  • Advising defendants in relation to the CPS’s largest direct and indirect tax fraud prosecutions.
  • Advising companies in relation to various criminal and regulatory matters, including bribery, food safety and money laundering compliance.
  • Advising private individuals in relation to general criminal matters, including sexual offences, crimes of violence and harassment.
Career

David Corker received a BA in jurisprudence from Oriel College, Oxford in 1983 and an MA from the University of Sheffield in 1984 in socio-legal studies. From 1984-1987 he served as a constable in the Metropolitan Police before qualifying as a solicitor in 1990.

David regularly writes for the national and legal press and academically about criminal and regulatory law. He is the author of ‘Disclosure in Criminal Proceedings‘ (OUP 2009) and ‘Abuse of Process in Criminal Proceedings‘ (4th Ed) (Bloomsbury, 2014).
David founded his own firm, now Corker Binning, in 2000, having been a partner at Peters & Peters.

News & Insights
Testimonials
"Outspoken in the market but always carefully listened to."

Chambers UK 2024

"He is very cerebral and thinks about things in a deep way. He's a careful and reflective lawyer."

Chambers UK 2024

"David Corker is a legend in this space."

Chambers UK 2024

"He is wonderfully creative in strategy and understands all areas of law, especially white-collar crime and POCA. He's brilliant."

Chambers UK 2024

"David is meticulous in the way he deals with clients and knows what he is doing."

Chambers UK 2023

"David Corker is an original thinker, very experienced and very good."

Chambers UK 2023

"David Corker is very sound and intellectual."

Chambers UK 2023

"David is a real thought leader. He's very outspoken in his views, he's someone who'll always take a position on something, even if it's unpopular."

Chambers HNW 2022

"He has got his eye on the solution to the problem from the beginning and works out a path to get there."

Chambers UK 2022

“David is a leader in the field and a go-to for POCA. He deals with complicated cases with incredible delicacy.”

Chambers UK 2022

“David is a gold mine of information about civil forfeiture and financial crime. He is an absolute expert and impossible to beat.” 

Chambers UK 2022

"David Corker and Peter Binning being repeatedly singled out as two of the leading lawyers in this field who stand out for their great integrity."

THE LEGAL 500 2022

"David is cerebral and unrivalled on procedural issues that may give rise to challenges that others don’t see."

THE LEGAL 500 2022

"David Corker always thinks outside the box, scrutinising problems from multiple angles to find novel solutions to issues."

THE LEGAL 500 2022

"David Corker and Peter Binning being repeatedly singled out as two of the leading lawyers in this field who stand out for their great integrity."

THE LEGAL 500 2022

"David Corker is the Yoda of white collar crime; calm, collected and has a wonderful brain."

Legal 500 UK 2020

David Corker is ‘an innovative thinker, takes nothing for granted, exceptionally perspicacious tactician, modest and very highly-regarded by other lawyers’.

THE LEGAL 500 2019

"An incredibly brilliant lawyer."

CHAMBERS UK 2019

"He has a rare combination of strategic 'big picture' instincts with a very detailed knowledge and understanding of the black-letter law."

CHAMBERS UK 2019

"Incredibly cerebral and a great strategic thinker when needed for complex criminal cases."

CHAMBERS UK 2019

David Corker "has led some big shifts in thinking".

CHAMBERS UK 2018

David Corker is "a fantastic criminal defence lawyer used to operating in a corporate space."

CHAMBERS UK 2018

David Corker "is a very highly respected practitioner."

CHAMBERS HNW 2018

"David is quite a cerebral lawyer - he's sort of a lawyer's lawyer. He really understands the law and is quite creative; he spots areas of the law to investigate and challenge," remarks one interviewee.

CHAMBERS HNW 2018

David Corker is “absolutely fantastic” according to sources, who particularly commend his impressive work on financial crime and cartel investigations.

WHO’S WHO LEGAL: INVESTIGATIONS 2018

"David's very much detail-focused, so he's going to reassure a client that he's thought of absolutely everything," says a source.

CHAMBERS HNW 2018

"David's innovative in his approach to his cases. He tends to have different ways or new angles to offer on a particular situation."

CHAMBERS HNW 2018

“A superb and very academic lawyer” who is “a key name” in the market.

WHO’S WHO LEGAL: BUSINESS CRIME DEFENCE 2018

“He is very highly specialised in business crime work.”

WHO’S WHO LEGAL: BUSINESS CRIME DEFENCE 2018

"They have a high density of the leading players - both David Corker and Peter Binning are very much at the top of the tree."

CHAMBERS HNW 2017

  • Advising multiple clients being investigated or prosecuted by the SFO for fraud and bribery offences, including acting in the Tesco, JJB Sports, LIBOR and Olympus cases.
  • Conducting a corporate internal investigation into suspected bribery at a pharmaceuticals company.
  • Acting for a number of individuals who are the subject of hostile FCA criminal and regulatory investigations, including a senior banking figure implicated in the FX scandal.
  • Acting in most of the recent and current investigations by the OFT/CMA into alleged cartel activity.
  • Acting for celebrities and politicians in relation to historic sex abuse allegations.
  • Acting for journalists concerning phone-hacking allegations.
  • Advising defendants in relation to the CPS’s largest direct and indirect tax fraud prosecutions.
  • Advising companies in relation to various criminal and regulatory matters, including bribery, food safety and money laundering compliance.
  • Advising private individuals in relation to general criminal matters, including sexual offences, crimes of violence and harassment.