Former Goodwin lawyer Richard Bloomfield has pleaded not guilty to five counts of insider trading, after he was charged by the Financial Conduct Authority earlier this summer.
He made his not guilty plea at Southwark Crown Court today (11 September) after being charged in July.
The charges relate to a 10-month period, ending 10 January 2023, during which the M&A lawyer worked on the acquisition of maternity fashion brand Seraphine.
He is alleged to have used his position to obtain information and deal in Seraphine securities on five occasions, according to the Financial Conduct Authority.
Goodwin advised Mayfair Equity Partners, a regular client of the firm, as it took Seraphine private in 2023, with the deal announced in January and finalised later in the spring. The company entered administration last summer.
The FCA said that it was not investigating Goodwin – which was not named by the regulator – or Seraphine, when it announced its decision to charge Bloomfield in July.
In a statement at the time, Goodwin said: ‘We are aware of the charges against our former employee. There are no allegations of wrongdoing by the firm, and we are not a subject of the FCA’s investigation. The firm has cooperated fully with the FCA and will not be commenting further at this time given the pending criminal proceedings.’
Prior to working as a M&A lawyer at Goodwin, Bloomfield worked at Bird & Bird and Herbert Smith Freehills.
In May, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) charged 30 individuals with insider trading in connection with a decade-long scheme. Among the individuals charged was New York lawyer Nicolo Nourafchan, who previously worked at Goodwin as well as Latham & Watkins.
DOJ prosecutors alleged Nourafchan was at the heart of the scheme, which saw a network of lawyers access non-public information relating to pending acquisitions and pass it on to traders.
Insider dealing is a criminal offence under Section 52 of the Criminal Justice Act 1993.
Bloomfield’s trial is set for 11 September 2028, and is set to run for an estimated time of two to three weeks.
(Image credits: Jorge Franganillo)
