Fraud - Supervising Solicitors | Lawyers, Solicitors London

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Chambers and Partners

A search order is the most draconian order that the English civil court can make. It allows an applicant’s legal team, without prior notice, to enter a respondent’s premises to search for and preserve evidence. Because of this an independent solicitor must be appointed by the court to explain the meaning and effect of a search order to the respondent, supervise the search, consider whether disputed documents can be provided to the applicant’s solicitors and report to the court on the execution of the search.

At Kingsley Napley we have substantial experience of obtaining, executing and challenging search orders. This experience means that when supervising a search order we are able to anticipate issues which may arise and can deal with those issues practically and sensibly.

We have five partners who have been appointed by the court to act as supervising solicitors at both commercial and residential premises. At short notice we can assemble supervising solicitor teams to attend at multiple sites.

We are well aware of the sensitivities involved in the execution of search orders, particularly when the search is of a residential property. We aim to establish a rapport with the respondent(s) in order to avoid, and where necessary defuse, antagonistic situations. We also understand the unique issues which arise when children are present at a search site.

The role of a supervising solicitor extends beyond supervision of the search, often requiring the review of documents obtained from the premises to make decisions on privilege, self-incrimination or relevance. Our team has a wealth of experience in tackling these issues.