Who we are:

Bernard George LLM, Solicitor

Bernard is Director of Socrates Training. He qualified as a solicitor in 1979. After a few years practising civil litigation, family and criminal law, he joined the College of Law to become a lecturer and trainer. Since then he has become one of the countries best known and most highly regarded trainers, lecturing to practitioners in Britain, the USA and Europe.

He has been Director of the College of Law’s operations in London, and Director of Training in an international law firm, and has served on various Law Society and other committees reviewing training matters. He has written on a wide range of legal topics, in publications from the Anglo American Law Review to the Times newspaper.

Socrates has worked with City law firm Byrne and Partners, and accountancy firm MacIntyre Hudson to develop the Socrates pack. Their contributions have been invaluable in ensuring the materials meet the needs of busy practitioners. These people from those firms appear on the training DVD or otherwise have been particularly involved.

Stephanie Barber BA ACA

Stephanie is a Director of MacIntyre Advisory Services, part of accountancy firm MacIntyre Hudson. Stephanie heads up the MAS financial training team. Many years in practice with MacIntyre Hudson LLP has given her experience of brokering solutions to all kinds of accounting and regulatory problems.

Stephanie qualified as a chartered accountant in 1987 and is the technical and compliance principal for MacIntyre Hudson LLP. She has overall responsibility for quality assurance for the firm's audit work.

Stephanie is an experienced lecturer on anti-money laundering and financial topics. McIntyre Hudson is a past winner of the prestigious LETG Training Organisation of the Year award.

Nicola Boulton

Nicola is a partner in City law firm Byrne and Partners, and serves on the Law Society’s Money Laundering Task Force. She is one of the countries leading practitioners advising on this area of law.

Nicola advised the Russian oil company Yukos on money laundering and related issues arising in connection with the IPO of Rosneft. Other notable instructions include the defence of a partner in a major law firm embroiled in a £100 million fraud claim, and a $60 million claim against JPMorgan Chase.

In the words of the Chambers Directory, Byrne and Partners “has been involved in a large number of high-profile and complex civil fraud and commercial litigation cases. Much of its work is of an international nature involving multi-jurisdictional disputes.”