Rebecca Chalkley appointed as Visiting Professor of Practice

The second Visiting Professor of Practice has been appointed at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS) and will take up this role on October 1. Rebecca Chalkley will work closely with the Centre for Financial Law, Regulation and Compliance (FinReg), to develop greater links between IALS and legal practice.

Rebecca is a member of Red Lion Chambers. She was The Times Lawyer of the Week in April 2022 and is a LexisNexis Expert in Corporate Crime.

Rebecca has over 20 years experience of financial and commercial wrongdoing, including fraud, money laundering, bribery and corruption and market abuse.

She specialises in business crime, fraud, and financial services regulation – which are central issues in the work of FinReg. She has particular expertise in insider dealing; bribery and corruption (both international and domestic); financial regulation; legal professional privilege; money laundering; proceeds of crime; tax fraud; fraudulent trading, as well as fraud more generally. She has been instructed in various cases resulting in deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs), including what is believed to be the largest to date.

Rebecca is Standing Counsel to the Department for Business and the Insolvency Service. She is frequently instructed in regulatory and quasi-criminal matters, including by the Health and Safety Executive; the Environment Agency; the Financial Conduct Authority; the General Medical Council and the General Optical Council. She is also instructed by various government departments including in cases before the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC). 

Rebecca regularly advises and acts in both Private and Public Prosecutions. She has been instructed in some of the largest Private Prosecutions that have appeared in the UK courts. Her expertise with regards to Private Prosecutions has been acknowledged in the legal directories. 

She prosecuted the "Phone Hacking" case, "The Trial of the Century" and more recently Boris Becker. 
Upon her appointment being confirmed, Rebecca stated:

 “I am excited and honoured to be taking up this role and very much look forward to the year ahead and my involvement with the IALS”

Commenting on the appointment, the Director of IALS, Professor Carl Stychin, said:

“I am delighted that Rebecca Chalkley will be joining the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies as a Visiting Professor of Practice in the Centre for Financial Law, Regulation and Compliance. Rebecca brings a wealth of experience to Finreg and we all look forward to working with her. Her appointment highlights the important role for IALS as a hub connecting legal academia and legal practice, to the benefit of both". 

About FinReg

FinReg was established in 2020, with the purpose of promoting knowledge and understanding of financial law/regulation/compliance, broadly construed. The ultimate objective of the Centre is to develop a reputation for research excellence across financial law, regulation and compliance, as well as acting as a hub for the promotion and facilitation of research – both nationally and internationally – across these areas.  

IALS has a long history and reputation for excellence in financial law-related research. That research reputation is reflected in the array of current and previous doctoral researchers in this area: recent graduates have successfully completed theses on, for example, financial compliance; tax avoidance; financial market regulation; international anti-money laundering regimes; anti-corruption in the private sector; alternative dispute resolution; securities regulation; and banking law, to name but a few examples. 

Expertise within IALS (both staff and PGRs) is complemented by a number of leading experts in financial law-related research areas amongst the IALS Associate Research Fellows. Further, a number of Visiting Fellows come to IALS each year to develop international, comparative research in the field. 

The founding director of the Centre is Professor Colin King.

About the Visiting Professor of Practice role

The position of Visiting Professor of Practice is filled by invitation for a fixed term of one year. Appointment is made on the basis of professional standing; contribution to IALS; and demonstrated interest in promoting the importance of links between academic scholarship and legal practice and policymaking.