Caroline Black is at the forefront of the corporate investigations field, acting as trusted advisor for over a decade to companies and individuals involved in the world’s largest and most complex cases. She is a criminal defence lawyer and advises organisations, boards and audit committees on conducting investigations and interacting with relevant national authorities, including the UK Serious Fraud Office, National Crime Agency, H.M. Revenue & Customs and the police (and their overseas equivalents). Ms. Black focuses her practice on the investigation and defence of business crimes, particularly matters involving corruption, money laundering, fraud and tax concerns. She has practical experience of advising clients on how to manage raids on corporate and personal premises and how to respond to and defend criminal or regulatory prosecution (including during interviews under caution and subsequent proceedings).
Ms. Black uses her experience of investigating and defending organizations to maintain an active compliance and advisory practice. She assists national and international organizations to recognize corruption and financial crime risks within their businesses, and to design and implement effective compliance measures. Ms. Black also regularly undertakes regulatory M&A due diligence on behalf of multinational companies.
Chambers UK has ranked Ms. Black as a leading white collar crime practitioner, commending "her ability to understand what is important in the bigger picture" and stating that "she has a very strategic and intuitive way of addressing and negotiating complex issues" (2020-2022). Ms. Black was also recognised by The Legal 500 UK as a Leading Individual for regulatory investigations and corporate crime, with clients commenting that she is "very pragmatic and efficient… very capable, engaged, hard-working and widely respected" and "mentally sharp, tactically astute, totally attuned to the client’s needs and fights her corner with great tenacity." She has been described as "a star defense litigator who will… be an even more dominant figure in the area in the future" (2020-2022).
Who’s Who Legal has listed Ms. Black as a Future Leader for Investigations (2019-2021), with clients stating that she is "impressive in her clear thinking approach to solving important issues", and she stands out for her "resilience, pragmatism and professionalism" in anti-corruption investigations. She was also named "Best in White Collar Crime" at the Euromoney’s European Women in Business Law Awards 2020.
Ms. Black is a lead member of the team that has won numerous awards for Dechert’s work on the Airbus investigation, including: "Most Important Development of the Year" at the Global Investigations Review (GIR) Awards, "White Collar Practice Group of the Year" by Law360, "International Litigation and Disputes Team of the Year" at the British Legal Awards, "Conduct, Enforcement or Business Crime Team of the Year" by The Lawyer, "Investigation Team of the Year" at the C5 Women in Compliance Awards, "Best Provider Collaboration" by American Lawyer, and listed as a finalist for "Most Impressive Investigations Practice of the Year" at the GIR Awards (2020).
Ms. Black was acknowledged by Euromoney’s Expert Guides 2019 as an Expert for White Collar Crime in the UK. She was described as having "the ability to keep cool in complex and stressful situations" in The Legal 500 UK 2019 and was named as a Rising Star for litigation by Legal Week in 2016. She was also recognised as a Rising Star by London Super Lawyers and has received awards for training and management. Ms. Black was listed in the 2015 edition of GIR's Women in Investigations, highlighting 100 remarkable women from around the world for their accomplishments in this area of law. Ms. Black is a member of the Fraud Lawyers Association, the Proceeds of Crime Lawyers Association and the Female Fraud Forum.