Lauren Bowkett

Practice Areas

Lauren is a fraud and financial crime specialist and an expert in confiscation and asset recovery proceedings. She has defended in numerous multi-million pound fraud cases, involving directors and senior managers and represented large scale organised crime groups. The work she undertakes is complex and usually involves the review and consideration of thousands of documents. Lauren has led a team of lawyers in the preparation of these cases.

Prior to joining Shoosmiths, Lauren was a Partner and Head of the Proceeds of Crime Act Department (‘POCA’) at Cohen Cramer. She has expertise in cross jurisdictional asset recovery and responding to claims of hidden assets. She advises on all aspects of POCA proceedings and has advised clients facing proceedings by the SFO, NCA, CPS, Environment Agency, Trading Standards and HMRC.

As well as her defence work, Lauren has advised corporates on financial crime compliance programmes, policies and procedures, in relation to money laundering, bribery and corruption, tax evasion and the Modern Slavery Act and can offer training at all levels. She also advises on internal investigations involving money laundering and bribery. Due to her expertise in POCA Lauren has a specialism advising on crypto assets within the POCA regime and provides AML compliance advice on crypto assets.

What makes Lauren a standout practitioner is that she represents her clients from the early stages of charge, and her extensive experience in this field enables her to identify and then advise on issues which may arise in a case which others may miss.

Lauren has previously been recognised in the Legal 500, 2022 edition and was recently observed as “a leader in her field with a high reputation”. She was shortlisted for Junior Lawyer of the Year at the Law Society Excellence Awards 2020 for her insight, flair, imagination and hard work in POCA and Asset Recovery.

Lauren is an active committee member of the Proceeds of Crime Lawyers Association.

Lauren has significant experience:

•Advising in fraud and financial crime cases: including advising on Restraint Orders, Account Freezing and Forfeiture Orders, Unexplained Wealth Orders and DAML matters.

•Confiscation proceedings under POCA 2002: including advising, third party interest applications, applications under s22 and s23 and extending the time to pay under s11. Also advising on stand-alone POCA conveyancing matters

•Specialism in asset recovery: including of a cross-jurisdictional nature.

•Enforcement proceedings: defending the imposition of the default sentence and those facing repossession orders or the appointment of a receiver.

•Advice on crypto assets within the POCA regime: including AML compliance advice on NFT's and cryptocurrency.

She also has experience in providing:

•Fraud and financial crime compliance advice.

•Advice in internal corporate investigations involving: Anti-money laundering, bribery and other advice re: corporate and individual liability.

•Counter fraud advice.