O’Kane promoted to head Peters & Peters’ fraud dept

Fraud and regulatory boutique Peters & Peters has promoted Michael O’Kane to lead its fraud practice.

O’Kane joined the 12-partner firm in 2002 from the Crown Prosecution Service, where he was a prosecutor, and within two years he was promoted into the partnership.

O’Kane replaces former co-heads Monty Raphael and Jo Rickards, who will take on client-facing roles.

Peters & Peters has created the position of ‘special counsel’ for Raphael, which, said O’Kane, “is a unique position for a unique lawyer”.

He added: “It means he’ll be working full-time on client matters. He’s been able to market to the highest level and we’re dealing with particularly complex cases.”

Most recently O’Kane, who featured in The Lawyer Hot 100, advised British Airways executives Iain Burns and Alan Burnett on price-fixing allegations, which were settled in March (The Lawyer, 11 March). He has also built up referrals from City firms for independent advice for directors.

“We’re entering a new chapter in the innovation and prosecution of international fraud, which is driven by the US authorities,” said O’Kane.

With competition for fraud work beginning to hot up among law firms, O’Kane said his partners were “trying to educate a market which is increasingly nervous about criminal fraud”.

He continued: “A lot of firms are trying to persuade the market that they have good fraud practices, but we have the evidence to show that we have the experience.”