Professional Profile

Andrew Bousfield is a senior junior specialising in only the most serious crime, POCA/money laundering and the interaction between employment law and criminal allegations. He is well respected by Judges and regularly takes on cases of forensic complexity. Drawing on his background as an award-winning investigative journalist, Andrew provides strategic advice on evidence collection and building a case. He is recognised for his effective and respectful interaction with the judiciary and his persuasive manner with juries and witnesses.

Andrew takes on all forms of serious and sensitive proceeds of crime and money laundering work. He is appointed to the editorial board of the leading practitioner text, Mitchell, Taylor and Talbot, “Confiscation and Proceeds of Crime”, where he is responsible for case updates in all areas of confiscation law. His experience includes conducting secondments at CPS London, the CPS Proceeds of Crime Unit, and HMRC’s criminal investigation team focussed on Illicit Finance.

In the field of serious crime, Andrew often undertakes cases involving complex psychiatric evidence. He has completed three further education courses in Abnormal Psychology and Personality Psychology at Oxford University, completing a dissertation on the use of the diagnosis of personality disorder in the criminal justice system, covering sentencing, fitness to plead, and false allegations.

Andrew is an expert in the interaction between employment law (whistleblowing) and criminal law, and in the duties that companies and public bodies have to report. He has acted in several multi-week high-profile employment tribunals against public bodies and investment banks, which are often subject to media attention.

Before coming to the Bar, Andrew was an investigative journalist for Private Eye, winning the Paul Foot award jointly for an investigation into bribery on military contracts in Saudi Arabia and finishing as runner-up for the Martha Gellhorn award for an investigation into the treatment of whistleblowers in the NHS. Prior to that, he worked as an editorial lawyer for several newspaper groups, providing advice on libel, privacy, public interest defence, and urgent High Court injunctions.