Allison Clare KC
Call: 1992 | Silk: 2020
Personal profile
Allison is Head of the Business Crime & Fraud Practice Group in Chambers. She specialises in all aspects of corporate and individual white collar crime, acting in criminal cases and advising major corporate clients.
Silks Band 1 in Financial Crime: Corporates and Silks Band 2 Financial Crime Individuals (2025 Chambers & Partners UK Bar Guide).
Ranked as “Financial Crime” Silk in Chambers and Partners July 2024 High Net Worth Legal Guide Allison graduated from Oxford University with a BA in Law and a postgraduate Bachelor of Civil Law. Shortlisted for ‘Barrister of the Year’ at The Lawyer Awards 2020.
Recommendations
― Legal 500 (2025)Allison is a ferocious advocate. She is fearless in the face of stout opposition or hostile judges. Her understanding of the evidence and instructions from clients is swift, confidence-inspiring and accurate.
― Legal 500 (2025)Allison's technical skill is unmatched, but she is also one of the best advocates. She is able to take extremely complicated material and break it down to present with precision and simplicity. This is critical in proceedings, for her clients, and for the solicitors she works with.
― Chambers UK (2025)She is so good with clients, organised, and also good with solicitors. She can do massive, complicated cases and you want to work with her.
― Chambers UK (2025)Allison is exceptional. Her forensic mind, concise and direct advocacy and ability to judge the mood of the courtroom yields fantastic results. She leads from the front.
― Chambers UK (2025)Allison is completely immersed in the detail of the cases in every aspect. She is a really strong leading counsel.
― High Net Worth Legal Guide (2024)Ranked as “Financial Crime” Silk in Chambers and Partners July 2024 High Net Worth Legal Guide
― Legal 500 (2024)Allison is always on top of the detail of a case. She has well-developed client handling skills and an easy manner with her team. She is a true expert in financial crime cases, understated and effective.
Chambers UK: Leading Fraud Silk for both corporates (Band 1) and individuals (Band 2)
Legal 500: Leading Silk in Fraud and Business & Regulatory Crime (including global investigations)
― Chambers UK (2023)Allison is very pragmatic in terms of her advice.
― Chambers UK (2023)She is absolutely first-rate.
― Chambers UK 2022She is absolutely first-class and a very bright fraud specialist.
― Chambers UK 2022Absolutely outstanding.
― Chambers UK 2022She is tremendously impressive, and commands respect.
― Chambers UK 2021She is really easy going but remarkably hard-working.
― Chambers UK 2021She is a very good tactician and can spot the points that others do not. She has a keen attention to detail and is very meticulous. She injects into litigation a high level of integrity and discipline because of her breadth of knowledge.
― Legal 500 2022 and 2021She has an incisive mind and authoritative approach to cases.
― Legal 500 2022 and 2021Allison is fabulous. Her advice is always of the highest quality. She is down to earth and a pleasure to instruct.
― Chambers UK 2020Brings a degree of clarity and circumspection to a case and is really able to sense-test what you do. If a matter goes to trial her technical ability is second to none, and she is excellent for those who want to properly challenge on an evidential basis.
― Chambers UK 2020She has a first-class mind and a lot of experience.
― Chambers UK 2019She is clever, commercial and pragmatic, and she understands the client’s needs.
― Chambers UK 2019Has total mastery of the factual elements of her brief. Her rigorous legal analysis results in clear and practical advice on matters which have no precedent.
― Legal 500 2019Clever, commercial and pragmatic – she understands clients’ commercial needs while staying legally robust.
― Chambers UK 2018Has a very strong claim to be simply the best junior Fraud lawyer in the market. She has an extraordinary eye for detail and an immense work ethic.
― Chambers UK 2017Really strong intellectually and the master of her brief.
― Legal 500 2017She has a very impressive eye for detail.
― Legal 500 2017Her legal analysis is second to none and her attention to detail faultless.
― Chambers UK 2015-2016She is incredibly thorough, really hard-working and an all-round excellent lawyer and advocate.
― Legal 500 2015-2016She takes a sound commercial attitude.
― Chambers UK 2013-2014Sought after by major corporate clients to advise on criminal law issues.
― Legal 500 2012-2013Able to reduce the complex to easily understood propositions of fact or law.
― Chambers UK 2011-2012An accomplished senior junior… cerebral yet user friendly… great at translating complex facts into digestible plain English.
― Chambers UK 2010-2011Committed to producing work of the highest standard.
Business Crime & Fraud
Allison specialises in defending allegations of Fraud, corruption, Money Laundering & Proceeds of Crime and corporate Crime. She also advises in related pre-contentious or non-contentious matters. Allison is reported as having a first-class mind and being a great tactician who can spot the points others do not. She is described as clever, commercial and pragmatic. Her wealth of experience combined with her judgement on business and client personal needs, makes for a dynamic barrister, well placed to represent on all white collar crimes.
Featured cases
- Allison has particular expertise in highly complex and technical cases.
- Defending in two insider dealing prosecutions (brought by FCA)
- Defending financial services company threatened with private prosecution
- Defending and advising in complex international corruption cases, numerous high value complex Frauds.
- Acted in three deferred prosecution agreements.
- Advises on all aspects of POCA.
- Advises on LPP.
Bribery & Corruption
Expertise in deferred prosecution agreements and international corruption cases
Featured cases
- Acts for two individuals suspected in large SFO and HMRC corruption investigation
- Counsel in the first ever UK Deferred Prosecution Agreement and both of UK’s largest ever DPAs
- Advising corporate clients on overseas corruption/self reporting issues.
- Advising corporate client as third party in large corruption case
Fraud
Particular expertise in defending complex market frauds.
Featured cases
- Defending two insider dealing trials (FCA).
- Defending large revenue Fraud.
- Defending investment Fraud.
- Defending financial services company in threatened private prosecution.
- Defending former equities trader in alleged multi million pound markets Fraud.
- Defending first FCA prosecution for failure to disclose passwords.
- Acted for a major bank involved as a third party in rogue trader prosecution.
- Experience in exchange traded funds, futures trading, misleading the market and other complex markets frauds.
Investigations
Allison has acted for a number of prominent UK corporates in respect of international corruption, Fraud & Money Laundering & Proceeds of Crime allegations and Investigations. She also advises on LPP issues.
Featured cases
- Acting for a major bank involved as a third party in a rogue trader case.
- Acting for a major bank as a third party in a large corruption case.
- Advising a number of corporates on money laundering issues (including transactional).
Proceeds of Crime and Confiscation
Allison has an in-depth knowledge of POCA and regularly advises on contentious and non-contentious issues in this area. She has also acted in contested confiscation proceedings. Allison is a member of the Bar Council’s Money Laundering Working Group.
Featured cases
- Defending a short notice POCA civil account freezing order application by NCA against the account of an overseas investment adviser and high net worth individual
- Advising UK plc on POCA reporting obligations and possible money laundering offences arising from an historic corruption scheme
- Advising UK Ltd company on all POCA aspects of its involvement in goods unlawful in UK but lawful overseas
- Advising on AML aspects of civil settlement in overseas jurisdiction where high corruption risk.
- Advising on AML risks in a number of time sensitive transactions.
- Advising on AML risks for payment service provider.
Regulatory & Professional Disciplinary
Allison has advised and acted for a number of regulatory bodies, including the GMC and OFGEM.
Featured cases
- Advised The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (OFGEM) as part of complex criminal investigation in relation to the supply of electricity within industrial setting and possible commission of offences.
Education
- 1990 BA in Law (Oxon)
- 1991 Bachelor of Civil Law (Oxon)
Awards
- Times ‘Lawyer of the Week’ 22 February 2024
- Shortlisted for ‘Barrister of the Year’ at The Lawyer Awards 2020 and 2024
- Leading Business Crime and Fraud Silk in the Legal 500 and Chambers UK Bar directories (see Recommendations)
- Ranked as “Financial Crime” Silk in Chambers and Partners July 2024 High Net Worth Legal Guide
Professional appointments
- SFO – KC panel
- Member of Bar Council’s Money Laundering Working Group
Memberships
- Volunteer for Advocate (Bar’s pro bono unit providing free legal advice)
- Women’s White Collar Defence Association
- Criminal Bar Association
- Committee Member of Fraud Lawyers Association
Publications
- Lloyd’s Law Reports: Financial Crime, Case Note Author
- Archbold: Criminal Pleading Evidence & Practice (Sweet & Maxwell)
- Fraud: Criminal Law and Procedure (Oxford University Press) including chapter on LPP
- ‘This is not about us’ – Complacency about the Bar’s Gender Pay Gap, Bar Council blog, March 2021
- Bribery – Corporate Culture in the Spotlight, New Law Journal, July 2021, Vol 171. An article considering the legal basis for adequate procedures defence
- Panel Speaker at Seminar for Young Fraud Lawyers Association September 2021 on Law Commission’s consultation into corporate criminal liability
- Panel Speaker at Global Investigations Review Winter Live, December 2021 covering recent developments in business crime and corruption cases with an emphasis on deferred prosecution agreements