The specialist regulatory, fraud and commercial crime department at North West law firm Stephensons Solicitors LLP has been awarded an accreditation that allows it to act in Very High Costs Criminal (VHCC) cases.
The accreditation has been granted by the Legal Services Commission (LSC) and gives the team the ability to take on serious and complex criminal cases that incur very high costs. These types of cases, typically those which last more than 25 days, can only be handled with solicitors and firms with the relevant expertise.
The Commercial Crime team at Stephensons has expanded rapidly in the last 12 months with several lateral hires, including the addition of Rachel Adamson, a fraud specialist with 15 years’ experience.
Sean Joyce, regulatory Partner at Stephensons, said: “We are extremely pleased to have achieved VHCC accreditation for the first time.
“The economic conditions are a particular hazard for business people at the current time and we are experiencing a significant rise in new cases, in particular fraud and serious crime. The VHCC accreditation will demonstrate to our clients that we have the ability to represent them in the most difficult of situations.”
The team acts on behalf of businesses and professional people who are facing prosecution for commercial crimes such as fraud, regulatory offences, motoring and transport offences, environmental offences and professional misconduct.
ENDS
Notes to editors
- Stephensons’ Crime department is recommended by the Legal 500 2010, which says the firm ‘has strength in depth in relation to general crime’.
- The firm has 28 partners and around 350 staff in offices across Greater Manchester and Merseyside.
For all media enquiries please contact: Lianne Tracey
Stephensons Solicitors LLP
T: 01616 966 229