Spear’s Review

Kingsley Napley’s Ed Smyth deals with serious crime and white-collar investigations, prosecutions and litigation. ‘I’ve wanted to be a criminal lawyer from when I first started reading Sherlock Holmes at school; it’s been a long-standing ambition and I still really enjoy it,’ he tells Spear’s.

Smyth has acted in many significant and complex cases brought by the Serious Fraud Office, HMRC, the Information Commissioner’s Office, the Electoral Commission and various professional disciplinary bodies. He has particular expertise in dealing with law enforcement applications that seek to freeze or seize assets, including account freezing orders and other applications made under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. 

Clients include high-profile individuals facing sensitive cases that often have international elements. Cognisant of his clients’ need to protect their reputations, he is pragmatic in handling the media and devising strategies to minimise publicity.