Julian Godfray
Biography
Julian Godfray is a senior associate in Baker McKenzie's Competition, Trade and Foreign Investment Department in London, and is part of the Firm's market-leading International Trade and Compliance & Investigations practices. Julian's practice focuses on compliance advice, investigations and foreign investment work. Julian’s practice covers a broad range of compliance areas, including sanctions and export controls, anti-bribery and corruption, anti-money laundering and competition law. Julian also advises on foreign investment matters and the National Security and Investment Act 2021.
During his time at Baker McKenzie, Julian has completed secondments to a FTSE 100 mining company, a FTSE 100 speciality chemicals and technology company (in the ethics and compliance team), and recently in the sanctions, anti-bribery and anti-money laundering legal team of a major US investment bank. Julian has also completed secondments to Baker McKenzie’s Brussels office (in the European and Competition Law Practice), and more recently to the Firm’s Madrid office in 2020, working as part of Baker McKenzie’s trade compliance practice in Spain.
Practice Focus
Julian's practice focuses on compliance advice, investigations and foreign investment work. Julian’s practice covers a broad range of compliance areas, including sanctions and export controls, anti-bribery and corruption, anti-money laundering and competition law. Julian also advises on foreign investment matters and the National Security and Investment Act 2021. Julian has significant experience in managing and advising on client’s interactions with a range of enforcement authorities and regulators, including the Serious Fraud Office, the UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, the UK Department for Business and Trade the European, the UK Financial Conduct Authority, and the UK National Crime Agency. Julian has significant experience in the financial services sector in particular.
Julian has contributed to a number of client alerts and publications in relation to bribery and corruption and trade compliance matters, and Julian regularly presents on these matters as part of the Firm's conferences and webinars.
Representative Legal Matters
- Representing a FTSE 100 company on the investigation and self-report of bribery-related matters before authorities in the US and UK, relating to conduct in a number of high-risk jurisdictions.
- Advising a wide range of companies on Russia sanctions compliance advice, including divestments and exports from Russia, and applications for financial sanctions and trade sanctions licences to UK and EU authorities.
- Advising a range of major financial institutions on financial sanctions compliance matters, including asset freezing and reporting obligations, and complex assessments of the impacts of sanctions on different types of financial transactions and counterparty relationships.
- Advising senior executives of a leading financial institution on an FCA investigation in relation to potential sanctions and regulatory breaches.
- Advising a number of technology and energy companies in relation to voluntary disclosures of sanctions and export control violations.
- Undertaking an investigation into bribery and corruption allegations for a UK-based engineering and infrastructure company, in the context of the sale of the business to a third party.
Admissions
- England & Wales~United Kingdom (2016)
Education
- King's College London (Postgraduate Diploma in EU Competition Law) (2019)
- University of Law (Legal Practice Course - Distinction) (2014)
- BPP University Law School (Graduate Diploma in Law - Distinction) (2013)
- University of Edinburgh (MA in Spanish and English Literature - including Erasmus exchange at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) (2011)
Languages
- English
- French
- Spanish
Previous Offices
- Brussels
- Madrid