Private prosecutions and investigations

Our specialist private prosecution lawyers advise individuals, SMEs, charities, regulatory bodies and national and international businesses on the full range of private prosecution remedies utilising criminal law sanctions.

We’ve provided expert legal advice for successful private prosecutions involving regulatory offences, counterfeit goods, trading standards, nuisance and the protection of intellectual property enforcement and dispute resolution, acting in some of the most complex criminal prosecutions in this field.

As well as advising on the initial private prosecution, we regularly advise individuals, businesses and regulatory/statutory organisations on the mechanisms required for compensation and confiscation via effective investigation procedures. We offer a bespoke service throughout the lifespan of a private prosecution including working in conjunction with statutory authorities.

We offer practical, cost-effective, high-quality advice, drawing on our expertise in bringing private prosecutions. We advise on all stages of the process, from choosing the best investigative procedure through to the drawing-up of charges on the evidence to hand and successful prosecution. We act on behalf of a full range of clients from individuals bringing prosecutions of statutory nuisance, regulatory bodies looking to protect the rights of their members and the public interest through to corporate bodies looking to protect their business.

We understand that any intellectual property dispute represents a significant distraction to your day-to-day operations whatever the size or nature of the dispute, and can pose a serious financial and/or reputational risk.

We advise on:

• Corporate crime
• Counterfeiting
• Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 offences
• Environmental Protection Act 1990
• Fraud Act 2006 offences including false representation
• Statutory nuisance/noise abatement
• Theft Act 1968
• Trade Marks Act 1994 offences
• Trademarks and copyright theft - civil and criminal
• 'White collar crime' prosecutions

The team has built up an unrivalled body of expertise on the investigation of offences to the requisite criminal standard and the bringing of successful private prosecutions. We’ve successfully argued the law surrounding privately brought prosecutions in appeal and judicial review hearings.

Our team has lectured to the Federation Against Copyright Theft Limited (FACT) senior investigators and bodies including the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and CILEX on the law surrounding private prosecutions, from investigative issues including RIPA methodologies through to the evidence required to prove matters to the civil or criminal standard at Court. We have also co-lectured at the Trading Standards conference on complex appeal cases before the Administrative Court of the High Court and the European Court of Justice.

We build long term strategic relationships with our clients, and gain a thorough understanding of their business, culture and practices. This enables us to deliver tailored, proactive, responsive, commercially pragmatic and frequently imaginative advice and strategy. 

We understand the importance of cost effective and timely advice to achieve the best overall outcome for you. We aim to resolve matters as quickly as possible through commercial negotiations, or alternative dispute resolution (including arbitration, adjudication and mediation).

Where alternative resolution is not possible, we’re equally comfortable taking matters to trial where we’ll robustly defend our clients’ interests. 

Russell-Cooke is a signatory to the Greener Litigation Pledge.

Here are some comments made about us.

Charges are usually based on our hourly rates plus administrative charges and disbursements. We’ll provide an initial estimate of your likely legal costs and will update this if your requirements or the circumstances of the work change.

We also have a flexible and innovative approach to litigation funding which, in appropriate cases, enables us to offer a number of funding options tailored to your particular requirements.