Global Investigations Review (GIR) has named WilmerHale retired partner Stephen Pollard the recipient of its 2026 Outstanding Career Award, honoring four decades of work on high-profile white-collar crime cases, much of it defending senior executives in serious financial crime investigations.

Pollard will receive the award on November 19 at the annual GIR Awards ceremony in Washington, DC, which celebrates the people, practices and agencies shaping the white-collar landscape. He is the second UK lawyer to receive the Outstanding Career Award and the second from WilmerHale, following retired partner Roger Witten, who was honored in 2019.

Pollard retired from the firm in April as a seasoned litigator whose practice spanned the full spectrum of business crime and securities enforcement work. Widely regarded as one of London’s leading lawyers for clients in proceedings brought by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the Financial Conduct Authority and the National Crime Agency, he was involved in many of the most significant investigations and prosecutions brought by UK authorities. His notable representations included Nick Leeson in connection with the collapse of Barings Bank, individuals in the SFO and US Department of Justice LIBOR and FX investigations, and clients in SFO investigations into Glencore, Rio Tinto and ENRC. GIR also highlighted his mentorship of many young investigations lawyers who have since become partners at London’s top firms.

Read GIR’s announcement here.