Partner

Harry Travers

‘Harry Travers is a combination of steely drive and ambition on the legal side, and empathy to the human impact of the position his clients are in’.

Harry Travers is enormously respected by the market and has almost unparalleled experience…

Harry Travers is an excellent solicitor who is at the top of his game!’

Harry Travers is extremely proactive and technically savvy.’ –

 The Legal 500, 2020

Harry Travers is a specialist in business crime and regulation, and in complex tax investigations.

He is listed in the Chambers 100, a legal directory of the top 100 business lawyers in the UK across all areas of law. He was also inducted into the Legal 500 “Hall of Fame” in 2018, which recognises partners who are “at the pinnacle of the profession”.

As a founding member of The International Academy of Financial Crime Litigators, a collaboration between public- and private-sector litigation professionals and the renowned Basel Institute on Governance, Harry adds his extensive experience of financial crime litigation and tax investigations to help promote international cooperation, access to justice and due process.

He is a committee member of the Fraud Lawyers Association and sits on the Gold Group of HMRCs Tax Crime Alliance.

He is ranked by Chambers UK in: Financial Crime: Individuals – London (Band 1); Financial Crime: High Net Worth Individuals – UK (Band 1); and Tax Contentious: Fraud – UK Wide (Band 1)

He has had an involvement in numerous high profile commercial fraud and corruption investigations conducted by the Serious Fraud Office including, in the last few years, including ENRC, BAT, Serco, Standard Bank, GPT/Airbus, Innospec, Libor, BAE and GP Noble.

He was consulting editor of the SFO’s publication ‘Serious Economic Crime: A Boardroom Guide to Prevention and Compliance’.

He is the sole solicitor committee member of the Tax Investigators Practitioners Group, a cross-disciplinary organisation comprising several hundred tax investigation specialists; and sits on the Fraud Forum of HMRC, established to consult on policy and operational issues on complex tax investigations and fraud.

He has been a partner of BCL since 1995. Previously, he was employed as a barrister in the Tax & Trusts Department of Berwin Leighton from 1987 to 1991 specialising in anti-avoidance litigation and trusts.

He is a graduate of St Edmund Hall, Oxford (open scholar, BA 1985, BCL 1987).

What the directories have said:

“Nobody works harder for the client than Harry. He is never-ending in trying to come up with ways to try and improve their position. One of the things that happened is that he is very good at getting people not to trial or charged.

Chambers UK, 2023

“He is wonderful. He’s versatile, committed and fiercely intelligent. He is the best commercial crime lawyer in the country.

Chambers UK, 2023

“He is fantastic and is a stellar lawyer. He is capable of conducting the highest profile and commercial cases, in both civil and criminal courts.

Chambers UK, 2023

“He does a lot of international cases and quite a few where his clients based overseas have an overseas problem and UK problem.

Chambers UK, 2023

“Harry brings the highest game. His client service, his commercial awareness and his level of sophistication are all very strong.

Chambers UK, 2023

“He has a unique profile because he is a real criminal lawyer and specialist. He has lots of experience fighting proper criminal cases and has very deep knowledge. He has an amazing track record. He delivered a fantastic result for the client and has complete encyclopaedic knowledge, plus he is creative and intelligent. He has a creative drive to find the points others wouldn’t. If you have a client, corporation or individual, he is the master at it – he has a niche and unique quality.

Chambers UK, 2023

He has unrivalled expertise, with a genius for simplification and delivery. He provides exceptional clarity and reassurance in critical situations.

Chambers UK, 2023

Harry Travers is a comforting and intelligent presence.

Legal 500, 2023

“Harry Travers is extremely competent, quick and thorough.

Legal 500, 2023

Harry Travers combines a very powerful analytical mind, with deep technical skills and industry leading experience. Harry works tirelessly to ensure clients benefit from the best possible outcomes in the hazardous environment of serious tax investigations!”

Legal 500, 2023

“Harry Travers – extraordinarily dogged in his painstaking approach to protecting and promoting the interests of his clients. He is like a dog with a bone and simply will not allow clients’ positions to be disadvantaged, even after things seem to be settled. Outstanding!”

Legal 500, 2023

“He’s excellent, in terms of intellectual prowess, he’s very impressive.”

Chambers HNW, 2022

“He is simply the best, his ability is without equal in my opinion. He has an impeccable character and a wicked sense of humour.”

Chambers HNW, 2022

“I respect him hugely, both in terms of his intellect and his pragmatism.”

Chambers UK, 2022

“If a family member needed representation, I would recommend Harry Travers without hesitation. He is fantastic.”

Chambers UK, 2022

“He is very hands-on, very responsive and always has time for you. He is on top of everything and I like the way that he approaches situations. He looks at things from all different angles and provides profound advice.”

Chambers UK, 2022

“If a family member needed representation, I’d recommend Harry Travers without hesitation.”

Chambers UK, 2022

“Harry is an expert on international white-collar crime matters. He is exceptionally clever; I value him hugely for his intellect and pragmatism.”

Chambers UK, 2022

“Harry Travers is a very intelligent, thoughtful and reliable adviser and litigator who is very tenacious on behalf of his clients to achieve great results.”

The Legal 500, 2021

“Harry Travers has an excellent analytical mind which serves this practice area very well.”

The Legal 500, 2021

“Harry Travers leads the department with panache. A confident and highly competent strategist who has seen it all.

The Legal 500, 2021

“Harry Travers has an excellent analytical mind, which sets him apart from many others in this area.”

The Legal 500, 2021

“Harry Travers is a ‘thinker’ who looks at all potential avenues to secure the desired result for his client.”

The Legal 500, 2021

“He is the top guy for dealing with contentious investigations. He is relentless and leaves no stone unturned.” “He is intensely driven and committed to his clients, finding a way through where others cannot.”

“He has tremendous in-depth knowledge of fraud and the procedures adopted by prosecuting authorities.” “He is supremely experienced and confident.”

Chambers UK, 2021

“He’s ferociously clever, he’s committed and he’s versatile.” 

“… he’s incredibly knowledgeable,” “… strategically he leaves no stone unturned.”

Chambers UK, 2020

“There isn’t much he doesn’t know – he is a real player in this game,”

“He is a standout operator in this field.” 

Chambers HNW, 2020

“Harry Travers is a combination of steely drive and ambition on the legal side, and empathy to the human impact of the position his clients are in’. at the very top”

Harry Travers is enormously respected by the market,and has almost unparalleled experience of HMRC investigations.”

Harry Travers is an excellent solicitor who is at the top of his game!”

The Legal 500, 2020

“… he never leaves his case” 

 “He’s always thinking about the best way to present his client’s case strategically.”        

“… an expert in his field.”  

Chambers UK, 2019

“… on top of his stuff.”

“He is very engaging and always gets to the heart of the matter.”

“… he’s ferociously clever, he’s committed and he’s versatile.”

Chambers HNW, 2019

“… frighteningly bright and relentlessly committed”

The Legal 500, 2019

“… relentless litigator”

“… tremendous analytical mind”

“… razor sharp” 

Chambers UK, 2018

“He is extremely intelligent, a great strategist, and tenacious in looking after the legal interests of his client. He is pragmatic and has genuine empathy for the situation.”

Chambers UK, 2017

“… is probably the best lawyer in the country who does this work,” 

“He is clever, he is highly committed and he is sufficiently versatile to turn his hand to any allegation of wrongdoing.” 

“Commercial crime is complicated, you need to know the tax law and Harry knows it. He is phenomenally versatile because he is phenomenally academic.”

Chambers HNW, 2017

“… he is very innovative and imaginative,”

“… very thorough and explores every possible angle.”

Chambers UK, 2016

“… enormously versatile”

“… is an exceptionally good lawyer who will look at all avenues to fight for his clients,” 

Chambers UK, 2015

Articles by Harry Travers

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