SFO issues guidance on section 2 interviews

Table of contents

• What is the background to the SFO guidance issued earlier this week on section 2 notice interviews?
• What are the key provisions of the new guidance from a practitioner’s perspective?
• What changes does this new guidance herald from the situation before?
• What practical and ethical issues is the new guidance likely to present to solicitors representing clients at section 2 notice interviews?

Article summary

Corporate Crime analysis: New guidance issued by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) seeks to establish a criteria whereby it might exercise some control over which lawyers might be instructed in investigation interviews. Rebecca Dix, barrister and senior associate of Bivonas Law LLP, assesses the guidance on how the use of certain lawyers and firms might compromise the interview process, weighing that danger against the need for the SFO to interpret the guidance with sensitivity and case-by-case subjectivity.