Jonathan Barnard KC
Short-listed for Legal 500’s “Corporate Crime Silk of the Year 2025”
“One of the brightest legal minds of his generation… an absolute force in financial crime – fearless, meticulous and devastatingly effective on his feet. Instructing him feels like turning up to a gun fight with an armoured tank.” Legal 500, 2026
“Unquestionably one of the best financial crime lawyers in trhe City…renowned for his razor-sharp instinct, ferocious intelligence and magnetic delivery. When he speaks, clients listen, and they love him for his excellent judgement, his tactical insights and his pitch-perfect advice” Legal 500, 2025
"very charming and absolutely fearless…will challenge the court with real grace and charm…masterful in his focus, commitment and strategic awareness…a fantastic leader of a team - calm, invariably the best-prepared lawyer in the room, and utterly dependable. His judgement is consistently spot-on, and his insight and advocacy are fantastic…utterly dependable, charming and clever. An absolute pleasure to work with…a consummate professional with great strategic awareness…a compelling advocate…infallible judgement, and manages to maintain his good humour even in the most difficult cases." Chambers & Partners, 2025
“A true superstar of his generation...Fabulously talented...A pleasure to work with”. Chambers & Partners, 2023
“Incredibly organised and over the detail of the case, more so than any of his opponents”. Legal 500, 2023
"Highly experienced and sought-after counsel; razor-sharp intelligence combined with persuasive advocacy and an imperturbable manner" Legal 500, 2022
"A top advocate...Calm under pressure, very measured, intelligent and impressive on the detail...One of the best strategists out there…excellent on his feet" Chambers and Partners, 2022
“Terrific; a new silk who's very calm, incredibly hard-working, clients love him...He combines sophistication with approachability and his sensitivity to a client's best interests is second to none” Chambers & Partners High Net Worth Financial Crime, 2022
Shortlisted for Corporate Crime Silk of the Year 2025
Particularly noted for his "supreme" judgment, “superb analytical skills” and heavy emphasis on teamwork, Jonathan garners accolades as an "elegant" and "charismatic" advocate. He is routinely instructed to represent professionals and corporate clients in high-profile, financial, and heavyweight criminal and regulatory matters. Whether at trial or providing strategic counsel during investigation, Jonathan is recognised as a "class act”, “incredibly intelligent”, “extremely industrious” and “a pleasure to work with”.
Ranked by: Chambers & Partners (Financial Crime, Financial Crime Corporate, Financial Crime High Net Worth), Legal 500, Who's Who Legal: Business Crime and Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom.
Winner, Crime Junior of the Year 2016 (Chambers & Partners)
Jonathan has appeared in:
- R v D (ongoing): representing CEO in overseas bribery & fraud trial
- R v AC (2020-25): represented a former senior partner of Kennedys LLP, acquitted on all counts of an alleged multi-million pound fraud (leading two juniors: one civil, one criminal); SRA proceedings discontinued after representations made
- R v M, B & O (2020-24): represented a former hedge fund director/owner facing charges of defrauding the Libyan Sovereign Wealth Fund across multiple jurisdictions
- ENRC v Dechert LLP & SFO (Top 20 Cases 2022, The Lawyer): represented this major US law firm re multi-million pound, multi-jurisdictional civil fraud claim, co-defending with the SFO [2021] 7 WLUK 680
- SFO v Barclays (winner - Most Important Court Case 2020, GIR): for first defendant, acquitted of all charges re Qatar multi-billion pound capital raise in 2008 [2019] 6 WLUK 873; [2020] Lloyd's Rep. R.C. 331
- SFO v D (2013-20): for D, 'the power broker of the Middle East', re alledged bribery pf the Prime Minister of Bahrain [2014] 1 W.L.R. 1857, & related actions across multiple jurisdictions
- SFO v Tesco: for first defendant (former CFO), acquitted of all charges re alleged fraud of over £300m [2019] 1WLUK 176
- CPS v SB (2017): representing a consultant surgeon charged with branding his initials onto a patient's liver
- SFO v FH Bertling Ltd: for a former director (2016-18)
- SFO v Alstom: for a former director, acquitted of all charges re overseas corruption [2016] Q.B. 763;
- R v Robinson: for first defendant (former senior partner of an international firm of accountants),, acquitted of all fraud charges before the Supreme Court of Gibraltar. Leading Authority on stay [2015] Gib LR 216 and prosecutorial misconduct [2015] Gib LR 410;
- R v Sivaraman [2015] 12 WLUK 619: represented gynaecologist in high profile private prosecution re legality of abortion (stayed, upheld by High Court (with costs)
- SFO v Evans (Celtic Mining): representing former CEO, successfully resisted High Court application for a voluntary bill of indictment [2015] 1 W.L.R. 3526, [2015] 1 W.L.R. 3595, [1025] Lloyd's Rep, F.C. 496
and advised:
- Re ZX Ltd (ongoing): advising regulated bond trading company in FCA enquiry (multi-jurisdictional)
- Re Ultra Electronics Holdings Ltd (ongoing): advising an individual suspected of overses corruption in SFO probe
- Re DE (ongoing): advising individual under investigation re Post Office Horizon
- Re AB: represented a former Glencore trader suspected of large-scale overseas corruption: no charges brought (2020-24)
- A financing PLC facing NCA money laundering investigation and contempt proceedings: charges dropped (2023-24)
- Rio Tinto Plc in 6 year investigation by the SFO, SEC and AFP into overseas corruption: SFO case closed without charge (2016-23)
- A multinational, LSE-listed company facing an SFO probe: case closed without charge (2023-24)
- A bank re money laundering issues (2023)
- GPT Special Project Management Litd re SFO inevestigation into bribery in Saudi Arabia (2016-20 i.e. pre-guilty plea 2021)
- Property tycoon Raymond Kwok, the only defendant to be acquitted in Hong Kong’s largest ever graft trial (2012-14)
- The last editor of The News Of The World in his long running contempt proceedings before Parliament (2012-16)
- A former high-ranking official at the Bank of England in relation to the SFO probe into LIBOR fixing.
