Antony Shaw QC
Call: 1975 | Silk: 1994
Call: 1975 | Silk: 1994
Described as having a reputation as one of the country’s pre-eminent fraud practitioner’ and a brilliant lawyer, who puts his life and soul into his cases, Tony Shaw QC has been mentioned or ranked every year in the field of Fraud by annual directories since 1989. His practice in serious Business Crime & Fraud, corporate and financial crime is extensive.
It pre-dates the creation of the SFO and the FSA/FCA, when he was instructed as a junior to represent the principal defendant in the SFO’s first major trial (Guinness). He is said to be a highly convincing jury advocate with a nice touch with judges and juries.
Tony principally defends, although he has also prosecuted for the SFO and the FCA. His legal expertise is wide. He is said to be ‘scholarly’ and ‘intellectual.’ For many years he has written for and edited some of the leading publications in corporate crime, serious fraud and conspiracy, including Archbold, OUP’s Fraud loose-leaf and Practical Law’s Business Crime and Investigations.
Tony strongly believes in the benefits of working as part of a team. He works very closely with solicitors and always complements the work they have done. He is very good at using new technology to aid case management and is technologically savvy.
He is analytical, commercially focused, attentive to business and client objectives, and extremely user friendly. He advises corporate clients on internal investigations into financial crime and corruption issues arising both at home and abroad.
An unflappable and highly convincing jury advocate who advises on high-stakes criminal matters, including bribery, corruption and tax fraud. He is highly praised for his ability in the most complex cases. Shaw boasts an impressive client base, drawing instructions from a number of major corporates on both internal and government investigations.
He is magnificent, approachable, funny and very bright. He’s a good jury advocate and a pleasure to deal with.
He’s very clever, measured and wonderful with clients and solicitors.”
― Chambers UK (2021) Ranked: Financial Crime – London [Band 1] and Financial Crime: Corporates – London [Band 2]
An intellectual powerhouse.
― Legal 500 (2021) Ranked: Business and Regulatory Crime (Including Global Investigations) – London [Tier 2]
He is an intellectual dynamo. For very complex issues and matters of the law, he’s great.
He’s superb in terms of his user-friendliness and his insightful knowledge – he really adds value. You can work very effectively with him as part of a team.
― Chambers UK (2020) Ranked: Financial Crime – London [Band 1] and Financial Crime: Corporates – London [Band 2]
He has a cool and poised head and bags of experience.
― Legal 500 (2020) Ranked: Business and Regulatory Crime (Including Global Investigations) [Tier 2]
An exceptional white-collar crime barrister whose advice is both intellectually robust and commercial.
He has deep knowledge and experience, and is a go-to for complex multi-jurisdictional matters.
― Chambers UK (2019) Ranked: Financial Crime [Band 1] and Financial Crime: Corporates – London [Band 2]
He is very effective and very rigorous.
He’s a thoroughly nice and extremely bright barrister who has been around and seen it all.
― Chambers UK (2019) Ranked: POCA Work & Asset Forfeiture – All Circuits
His skill at managing documents is superior to the majority of his rivals.
― Chambers UK (2018) Ranked: Financial Crime - London
Works very closely with solicitors and always complements the work they have done.
― Chambers UK (2018) Ranked: POCA Work & Asset Forfeiture - London - All Circuits
He willingly rolls up his sleeves and rapidly grasps areas of law outside his normal practice.
― Legal 500 (2017)
He is very easy to deal with and a genuine team player.
― Legal 500 (2017) Ranked: Financial Crime - London [Band 1]
Scholarly and someone with an incredible work ethic, he has a nice touch with judges and juries.
― Chambers UK (2017)
He has a great presence in court, is bright and works very hard… highly effective.
― Who’s Who Legal (2017)
Handles high-value confiscation matters as part of a specialised serious fraud practice that sees him tackling money laundering, white-collar crime and corruption litigation.
He is an excellent silk to work with, not least because of his ability to give incisive written opinions. He also has excellent advocacy skills, and is very good at using new technology to aid case management.
One of the most technologically savvy members of the Bar.
― Chambers UK (2017) Ranked: POCA [Band 2]
A brilliant lawyer, who puts his life and soul into his cases.
― Legal 500 (2016)
He is very experienced and extremely user-friendly.
He is extremely intelligent and has a clarity of thought which marks him out from other people.
― Chambers UK (2016)
an ‘astute legal mind’, ‘extremely effective’, ‘strong grasp of the details’, ‘diligent manner.
― Who’s Who Legal (2016)
A leader in the field of fraud. ‘He’s an absolute star. He is extremely intelligent, he is a great lawyer and his real skill lies in being able to get to grips with complex issues and explain them in very simple terms. He has a clarity of thought which distinguishes him from other people.
He receives glowing praise from peers and solicitors, who value his sharp intellect.
He’s top-drawer and a consummate professional.
He takes time to familiarise himself with the nitty gritty matters in a case.
― Chambers UK (2015)
A ‘doyen of the legal market’ and an ‘authority’ on white collar crime.
― Who’s Who Legal (2015)
An excellent lawyer and a pleasure to work with.
― Legal 500 (2015)
He has an excellent reputation for defending major fraud and corruption cases. Solicitors praise him for his assured approach and extensive expertise.
― Chambers UK (2014)
An absolutely no-nonsense barrister who gives extremely practical advice and formulates very helpful strategies.
He’s a hard-working and dedicated QC and a fantastic advocate – the full package.
Since he was around for all stages of POCA development he is able to contextualise the current case law.
― Chambers UK (2014)
‘Excellent’… tackles cases covering all the various sins prosecuted by the SFO. Noted for his ability to handle complex, fact-heavy cases.
― Chambers UK (2013)
Wins considerable market praise for being an intellectually powerful and highly effective jury advocate who is ‘experienced, thorough and fair’; ‘absolutely brilliant’ and ‘properly intellectual’ …his ‘easy and engaging style’ makes him a hit with juries.
― Chambers UK (2012)
A purveyor of ‘robust advice’ on all manner of fraud offences. A sage and experienced hand when it comes to serious fraud work. His involvement in the long-running Pharmaceuticals case further confirmed his reputation as one of the country’s pre-eminent fraud practitioners, and he has continued to build on this momentum.
― Chambers UK (2011)
Described as having a reputation as one of the country’s pre-eminent fraud practitioners and a brilliant lawyer, who puts his life and soul into his cases, Tony has been mentioned or ranked every year in Chambers UK or Legal 500, in the field of Fraud, since 1989.
See our Fraud team.
Tony has experience working in Bribery & Corruption cases.
See our Bribery & Corruption team.