Wealth & Finance August 2017

Wealth & Finance International 8 Client Focused and Result Centred ond Solicitors pride ourselves on being able to provide clients with cost effective and practical solutions to their legal issues. In addition, we can provide a multi-disciplinary approach to problems, as many of our professional staff and specialist consultants are multi-qualified. Our firm has a long-estab- lished relationship with Bond Associates Limited, a firm of investigative accountants, that has specialised over many years in the financial aspects of both crime and civil disputes. It is this rigour of approach, that sets Bond Solicitors apart from a purely general practice and means that we are well equipped to resolve the challenges our clients face. The scope of our practice is demonstrated by the range of services we offer, which you can learn more about on our website at: www.bondsolicitors.com. Bond Solicitors specialises in dealing with business in terms of both opportunities and problems. These can be either problems that a business has or problems that, as a member of the public, you have with a business or other individuals. The firm has years of experience, particularly in creating cost effective solutions to both business issues and individual claims. As a business: • Your business may have been the subject of attack by financial criminals. Our firm specialises in fraud prevention, investigation and recovery as well as anti-bribery measures and AML issues; • Your business may be the subject of a commercial dispute. We are experts in commercial civil litigation and dispute resolution; • Your business may need commercial legal advice or assistance. This could be in drafting contracts, in areas of company law or a wide range of commercial legal support that can be offered; • Your firm may need assistance in areas of employment law; • Your firm may operate in a regulated business sector. We are experienced at dealing with regulators, so we can aid and advice to support you and; • We have within our team, experienced media lawyers who can assist you in this specialist area. As an individual: • You may be subject to an employment dispute. As experienced employment lawyers, we can help; • You may be a shareholder in a private firm and have a shareholder dispute. The firm has a strength in resolving company, partnership and shareholder disputes; • You may have made an investment that has failed through unfair practices. We are specialised in handling investment disputes and fraud / misrepresentation claims; • We are experienced in dealing with intellectual property claims, for both artists and artist’s managers; • You may be creating a new business, investing in a business or acquiring a business. We are experts in due diligence and business acquisitions and; • We are experienced in franchise disputes, having won settlements for clients where franchises have not performed. In terms of my own role in the firm, I offer a unique combination of skills and experience, as its Principal. As a seasoned solicitor, I have more than 13 years of practice under my belt. As an experienced accountant, I have over 20 years of professional practice behind me. In all, I have been in a commerce or a professional practice for over 30 years. My specialisms have been in anti-money laundering, fraud in- vestigations and recoveries, as well as commercial litigation. In addition to being the Principal, I am also Managing Director of Bond Associates Limited, a firm of investigative accountants. The following are just a few highlights from my long and varied profes- sional career: • Since 1988, I have been involved in some of the major fraud investigations that have taken place in the UK. In the 1990’s, I was involved in the investigations into Polly Peck, BCCI, Banco Ambro- siano and John Palmer (Goldfinger). Within my own businesses, I have been involved in banking fraud investigations at GE Capital in Prague, the recovery of £5 million defrauded from an individual in a prime bank instrument fraud, as well as a £13 million fraud on bond holders. • In 1994, whilst I was a forensic services partner at Grant Thornton, I was the author of the Accountants Digest on Money Laundering published by the Institute of Chartered Accountants. Since that time, I have become a leading expert on anti-money laundering policy and procedures. I have lectured throughout the world, par- ticularly in South America on behalf of the US Treasury and more recently in the Middle East and Asia. • In 2004 - I conducted a risk review of procedures at the London Branch of a Spanish Bank, which resulted in putting in place their whole anti-money laundering system - and developing risk models for both fraud and money laundering risks. Bond Solicitors is a specialist firm based in Canary Wharf, at the heart of London’s financial sector. Their practice is both client focused and result centred. Following their success in winning the Most Outstanding Law Firm – UK award, we invited the firm’s Principal, Monica Bond to detail what Bond Solicitors does. B 1706WF03