Partner
Tom McNeill
“He gets on very well with clients and he’s a superb lawyer.”
Chambers UK
Tom McNeill specialises in corporate crime, both regulatory enforcement and financial crime. His financial crime expertise includes fraud, bribery, and money laundering investigations, while his regulatory practice covers all manner of safety offences and environmental protection.
Tom regularly advises on the most serious, complex and high-profile matters, working closely with specialist colleagues, experts and counsel to deliver the best possible outcomes for clients.
Regulatory Enforcement
Tom defends companies and individuals from regulatory investigations and prosecutions brought by the police/CPS, HSE, ORR, Local Authorities, Fire and Rescue Authorities, and Environment Agency, advising on:
- crisis management
- corporate and director liability
- legally privileged internal investigations
- proactive engagement with investigating authorities
- responding to and appealing improvement / prohibition / enforcement notices
- responding to information requests
- interviews under caution
- defending investigations and prosecutions
- judicial review of the actions of investigating authorities
- Coroner’s inquests
Tom advises on broad range of regulatory matters, including following fatal and serious incidents, alleged fire safety breaches, and pollution incidents / permitting breaches. Tom has experience in a wide range of sectors, including manufacturing, construction, railways, recycling, chemicals, utilities, transport, facilities management, entertainment, leisure, real estate, waste, water industry. Tom is ranked in Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500.
Financial Crime
Tom defends companies and individuals from investigations and prosecutions brought by the police/CPS, SFO, NCA, City of London Police, FCA, advising on:
- crisis management
- corporate internal investigations in relation to fraud, bribery, and money laundering, including advising on self-reporting and corporate and director liability
- advising in relation to search warrants, production orders, compulsory and voluntary information requests
- interviews under caution
- proceeds of crime
- defending investigations and prosecutions
Tom’s experience includes:
- all manner of fraud investigations and prosecutions (including fraudulent trading, cum ex, Ponzi, fraud by abuse of position, MTIC)
- bribery and corruption investigations including advising on the failure to prevent bribery offence under section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010
- corporate internal investigations including requests for information, the privilege against self-incrimination, and self-reporting to investigating authorities
- proceeds of crime, including successfully defending money laundering investigations and prosecutions, suspicious activity reports, restraint, confiscation and asset recovery
- other financial and white-collar crime matters including insider dealing, market abuse, sanctions, and extradition
Career
Tom studied LLB Law at Lancaster University and completed the LPC at the College of Law, York. Tom joined BCL before qualifying as a solicitor in 2011, and became a partner in 2022.
Publications
- What are the implications of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill 2022 for corporate crime lawyers? (LexisNexis)
- ‘Economic Crime – Who Pays?’ (LexisNexis)
- ‘Corporate criminal liability reform’ (Fraud Intelligence) (with John Binns)
- ‘Getting The Deal Through – Government Investigations’ (Lexology) (with Michael Drury)
- ‘Health & safety prosecutions: individual failings’ (Reports Legal)
- ‘Company liability for safety breaches by individuals’ (Building Magazine)
- ‘Law commission proposals on corporate criminal liability’ (Reports Legal) (with John Binns)
- ‘Defending failure to prevent offences’ (with John Binns)
- ‘Petrofac and ‘SOCPA agreements’’ (Fraud Intelligence) (with Shaul Brazil)
- ‘Corporate crime and the regulatory approach’ (Lawyer Monthly)
- ‘An introduction to fire safety enforcement’ (Fire Magazine)
- ‘Cognitive bias and defending health and safety investigations’ (Health & Safety Matters)
- ‘Cum ex and the Criminal Law’ (FinCrime Report)
- ‘The age of corporate responsibility’ (WealthBriefing)
- ‘Fatal accidents and criminal liability’ (Law 360) (with Guy Bastable)
- ‘Dog-law and dishonesty’ (with Anoushka Warlow)
- ‘Criminal Finances Bill – Forfeiture of Bank Accounts?’ (with John Binns)
- ‘Are Government proposals to tackle money laundering too radical?’ (with Guy Bastable)
- ‘The International Comparative Legal Guide to Business Crime’ (Global Legal Group)
- ‘When Should Organisations Be Held Criminally Liable?’ (ICLG, Global Legal Group)
- ‘Practical Law’s Financial and Business Crime Global Guide’ (Thomson Reuters)
- End crown immunity to save lives (The Times)
- Prisoner Suicides: Why is the Prison Service Immune From Failure?
Professional Memberships
- Health & Safety Lawyers Association
- UK Environmental Lawyers Association
- Fraud Lawyers Association
- The Law Society
What the directories have said:
“He delivered the outcome required and understands his client superbly. He is also extremely affable, absorbs vast amounts of detail quickly and is clear and concise. His client service is very strong, and his level of sophistication and his commercial awareness are strong.”
Chambers UK, 2023
“Tom is very detail oriented and has been very valuable, and we have been very happy with his work. He is also always available the same day, usually, if required, and very much driving the case. I think that his level of sophistication and his client service are very strong. His commercial awareness is neither strong nor weak…He has provided us with budgets and is aware of the implications of the case on our company.”
Chambers UK, 2023
“Tom is across all details on his cases and brings a meticulous, methodical analysis to complex issues. He is responsive and always a pleasure to work with. His client service and general level of service is very strong, and his level of sophistication and commercial awareness are strong.”
Chambers UK, 2023
“Tom is a knowledgeable and experienced practitioner. He understands the issues and what his client wants.”
Chambers UK, 2023
“Tom McNeill is a seasoned practitioner who clearly works hard to look after his clients best interests but at the same time is affable and sensible to reach accommodation with other stakeholders.”
Legal 500, 2023
“Tom McNeill understands his client superbly, extremely affable, absorbs vast amounts of detail quickly, clear concise.”
Legal 500, 2023
“Tom McNeill brings a restless, forensic eye to the matters he works on.”
Legal 500, 2023
“Tom McNeill is also very bright and a huge benefit to any team. He rolls his sleeves up and gets stuck into the most complex problems.“
Legal 500, 2023
“He has phenomenal research abilities and he knows the law extremely well. He is excellent with clients and has very good judgement as well.”
Chambers UK, 2022
“He is excellent. He has great attention to detail and is very hard-working and tenacious.”
Chambers UK, 2022
“Tom is excellent. He’s bright, thorough, tenacious and very hardworking. He can deal with a large volume of work and provide superb insight.”
Chambers Insights, 2022
“Tom is absolutely as smart as they come. He is really good to work with and doesn’t miss a thing.”
Chambers Insights, 2022
“Tom McNeill at BCL is unusual in that he has a background steeped in the criminal law AND has extensive experience of advising corporates in relation the most complex investigations and prosecutions conducted by the HSE, the EA and local authorities.”
The Legal 500, 2021
“Knows his cases very well and grasps the nuances of different approaches.”
The Legal 500, 2021