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Tessa is a consultant in the private client and tax team, focusing on tax investigations.
Tessa is a highly experienced barrister with over 35 years of practice, renowned for her expertise in complex tax fraud and financial crime litigation. Her career reflects a rare blend of prosecutorial authority and defence expertise, making her a trusted advisor in the most challenging financial crime cases.
Tessa has built a formidable reputation defending corporations, bankers, high-net-worth individuals, venture capitalists, sports professionals, and figures from the entertainment industry against direct and indirect tax criminal prosecutions. She also advises on COP9 civil fraud investigations, combining tactical acumen with discretion to safeguard clients in high-stakes matters.
During her time as a government lawyer, she prosecuted direct and indirect tax fraud, advising the Board of Inland Revenue, the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office, and the CPS Central Fraud Unit on some of the most sensitive and intricate cases on the Attorney General's sensitive case list. She also advised the Quadripartite Committee of the House of Commons on disclosure in anti-proliferation prosecutions. She prosecuted anti-proliferation cases, bringing her expertise to matters of national and international security.
STRAP security cleared, Tessa has played a pivotal role in advising on raids and coordinating with Eurojust liaison magistrates, and customs authorities across jurisdictions in high-profile international investigations. She is a recognised specialist in Letters of Request, Mutual Legal Assistance, Mutual Administrative Assistance and Judicial Review, bringing strategic clarity and procedural rigour to cross-border enforcement.
Tessa has been a guest speaker at anti-proliferation expert conferences in Paris, Athens, and Eurojust, and is a regular speaker at the Cambridge University Symposium on Economic Crime, where she shares her insights on international cooperation and enforcement. She has also been a guest speaker at Dutch Revenue Service conferences, further demonstrating her standing as a trusted authority in cross-border tax and financial crime matters. Her expertise has been recognised beyond the courtroom: she has appeared on BBC News, the Today Programme on Radio 4, and in Bloomberg, the Financial Times, and Spears Magazine, offering authoritative commentary on financial crime and enforcement issues.
Recent recognition
Me in a minute
I am able to guide clients in the best strategy to resolve their tax dispute
I was drawn into the world of tax investigations by a job description promising lots of overseas travel. In the event, I got no further than the Channel Islands during my first seven years with HMRC, but things have improved since then!
I spent 23 years working with the Inland Revenue, Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office and the Crown Prosecution Service prosecuting fraud cases, and specialising in tax fraud. The experience gained in these agencies gives a unique perspective to the advice I deliver to my clients, frequently helping them in very difficult circumstances. With a deep understanding of the anatomy of an investigation, I am able to guide clients in the best strategy to resolve their tax dispute with HMRC.
When I'm not grappling with a tax investigation matter, I am otherwise occupied as taxi-driver for my two children and umpire between our two Jack Russell dogs.