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portrait of Alexander Mills

Alexander Mills

Senior Lecturer

The City Law School, Professional Programmes

Contact Information

Contact

Visit Alexander Mills

GIP217, The City Law School

Postal Address

City, University of London
Northampton Square
London
EC1V 0HB
United Kingdom

About

Overview

Alex Mills joined the City Law School in 2012 following years of experience as a barrister in private practice specialising in criminal law, healthcare regulation, and asset forfeiture. Alex has had broad ranging experience of appearing before the High Court, Crown, Magistrates and Youth Courts. He was a Level 3 CPS external advocate and has conducted Courts Martial in the UK and Germany. Alex's experience in asset forfeiture includes both civl and criminal asset forfeiture. He has also had in-depth experience of healthcare regulation, working with both the General Pharmaceutical Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Alex continues to have links to practice, and sits as both a Recorder in the Family Court and as a fee-paid Tribunal Judge in the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber of the First Tier Tribunal, where he is authorised to hear Mental Health Tribunal cases.

Alex's primary specialism is in fraud and economic crime, with a particular focus on the forfeiture of criminal assets. Alex has worked extensively with judges, lawyers and investigators in jurisdictions across the world on the law, procedure practice relating to asset forfeiture. This has included work for the UNODC, the Commonwealth Secretariat, British High Commissions and the International Governance and Risk Institute. He works extensively with the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network for Southern Africa (ARINSA). Alex has acted on consultant drafter on rules of court covering the proceeds of crime and mutual assistance in criminal matters for Jamaica and is currently working with the Law Commission of England and Wales on reform of the post-conviction confiscation regime.

Alex is the module co-ordinator for the fraud and economic crime elective on the Bar Vocational Studies courses and for the money laundering module, which forms part of the LLM in International Banking and Finance.

Qualifications

  1. MA (Academic Practice), City, University of London, United Kingdom
  2. MA (Law), University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

Publications

Books (2)

  1. Edge, R., Mills, A. and McKeown, P. (2018). Evidence. Edge, R. and Mills, A. (Eds.),
  2. Edge, R., Mills, A. and McKeown, P. (2016). Evidence. Edge, R. and Mills, A. (Eds.),

Chapter

  1. Mills, A. and Hopmeier, M. (2018). Post-conviction confiscation in England and Wales. The Palgrave Handbook of Criminal and Terrorism Financing Law (pp. 447–468). Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-3-319-64498-1.

Other Activities

Events/conferences (19)

  1. Train the Trainers – Asset Recovery Advocacy. (Workshop) Durban, South Africa (2019). Organising Committee, Chair, Panel Member, Session/Day Chair and Review Panel. Invited speaker.
    Description: Training advocates from across the ARINSA network on behalf of ARINSA and the UNDOC, so that advocates could deliver asset recovery advocacy programmes in their jurisdictions.
  2. National Capacity Building Programme for Justice Officials on the handling of vulnerable witnesses in criminal process, Money laundering and Assets recovery, with reference to civil forfeiture and international cooperation in criminal matters in Saint Lucia. (Workshop) Castries, St Luicia (2019). Session/Day Chair, Organising Committee and Panel Member.
    Description: Delivering training to judges, prosecutors, customs and FIU officials on proceeds of crime and money laundering, with specific reference to cash seizure. MLA training delivered alongside the Canadian and UK Central Authorities.
  3. Effective Handling of Contested Asset Recovery Proceedings. (Workshop) Livingstone, Zambia (2019). Chair, Session/Day Chair, Organising Committee, Panel Member and Review Panel. Invited speaker.
    Description: Building on the success of the 2018 NCB forfeiture advocacy programme, an advanced version the previous programme was designed and delivered covering NCB and conviction based forfeiture.
  4. Non-Conviction Based (NCB) Asset Recovery Advocacy Programme. (Workshop) Pretoria, South Africa (2018). Chair, Session/Day Chair, Organising Committee, Panel Member and Review Panel. Invited speaker.
    Description: Design and delivery of a non-conviction based asset recovery advocacy programme for ARINSA and the UNODC, focussing on cross-border financial flows.
  5. 'Plea-Bargaining and Dealing with Minor Offences: International Experience and Practices in China'. (Conference) Beijing (2017). Invited speaker.
    Paper: England and Wales - Experience in dealing with minor offences: practices and new developments
    Author: Mills, A
    Description: Speaker at a conference organised by Renmin University, Chaoyang Procuratorate and the Great Britain China Centre The conference was attended by police, prosecutors, judges and local officials. The aim was to feed into a practical pilot on strategies for tackling minor offences that was taking place through the different provinces in China.
  6. Proceeds and Instruments of Crime Act Judicial Training Workshop. (Workshop) Phakalane, Botswana (2017). Chair, Session/Day Chair and Panel Member. Invited speaker.
    Description: Training senior judges and magistrates on how to apply the proceeds of crime and money laundering provisions of the Proceeds and Instruments of Crime Act in practice, on behalf of the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network for Southern Africa.
  7. Pecuniary Penalty Order Training. (Workshop) Kingston, Jamaica (2017). Chair and Organising Committee. Invited speaker.
    Description: Training prosecutors and investigators from the Jamaican Financial Investigation Division on how to maximise the prospects of successful applications for pecuniary penalty orders.
  8. Proceeds of Crime Judicial Sensitisation Seminar. (Workshop) Runaway Bay, Jamaica (2017). Session/Day Chair and Panel Member. Invited speaker.
    Description: Training workshop delivered to senior judges in Jamaica on the proceeds of crime rules of court and the proceeds of crime legislation more generally, on behalf of the British High Commission.
  9. Courtroom issues in cybercrime cases. (Workshop) Angola (via skype) (2016). Invited speaker.
    Description: Presentation to the African Prosecutrors Association prosecutors on courtroom issues in cybercrime cases
  10. Southern African Chief Justices Forum: Money Laundering; Cyber-crime and the judiciary's responses. (Conference) Windhoek, Namibia (2016). Invited speaker.
    Description: 1. Presentation to Chief Justices from across the region on judicial considerations in money-laundering cases through a mock-trial scenario and on cybercrime issues in the courtroom.
    2. Delivering side-training on behalf of the UNODC to judges from Namibia and Malawi on contemporary issues on the proceeds of crime.
  11. Proceeds of Crime Law in Practice. (Workshop) Seychelles (2016). Chair, Organising Committee and Panel Member. Invited speaker.
    Description: Development and delivery of training to prosecutors, investigators and police officers on money laundering and the proceeds of crime. Delivered on behalf of ARINSA and the UNODC.
  12. Proceeds of Crime Act Training. (Workshop) Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (2016). Chair. Invited speaker.
    Description: Delivering training to magistrates and prosecutors from across PNG on money laundering, corruption and the proceeds of crime following the enactment of five new legislative instruments, on behalf of the International Governance & Risk Institute and the British High Commission.
  13. ESAAMLG Regional Judicial Retreat. (Conference) Swakopmund, Namibia (2015). Panel Member.
    Description: Facilitator at the Eastern and Southern African Anti-Money Laundering Group retreat for judges from across Eastern and Southern Africa on the proceeds of crime and money laundering.
  14. Taking the Proceeds from Wildlife Crime. (Workshop) Zanzibar (2015). Chair and Panel Member. Invited speaker.
    Description: Trained judges from Zanzibar and Tanzania on effective techniques for taking the proceeds from wildlife crime on behalf of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
  15. Proceeds of Crime and Money Laundering Training. (Workshop) Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (2015). Chair and Panel Member.
    Description: Training the senior judiciary (including the Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice) on the proceeds of crime, money laundering and corruption, on behalf of the International Governance & Risk Institute and the British High Commission.
  16. Prosecutor training on the Proceeds of Crime. (Workshop) Phakalane, Botswana (2014). Chair, Session/Day Chair and Panel Member. Invited speaker.
    Description: Training prosecutors and investigators in a week long programme on effective use of all aspects of proceeds of crime legislation, on behalf of the UNODC and ARINSA.
  17. Prosecutor advocacy training. (Workshop) Male, Maldives (2014). Chair, Session/Day Chair, Organising Committee, Panel Member and Review Panel. Invited speaker.
    Description: Designed and implemented the first prosecutor advocacy training programme in the Maldives, on behalf of the Commonwealth Secretariat.
  18. Prosecutor training on the Proceeds of Crime. (Workshop) Swakopmund, Namibia (2014). Chair, Session/Day Chair and Panel Member. Invited speaker.
    Description: Trained prosecutors and investigators in a week long programme on effective use of all aspects of proceeds of crime legislation, on behalf of the UNODC and ARINSA
  19. Commonwealth Regional Programme for Directors of Public Prosecutions and Heads of Anti-Money Laundering Agencies): The need for effective prosecution agencies to combat corruption, financial crimes and money laundering. (Conference) Gaborone, Botswana (2014). Panel Member. Invited speaker.
    Description: Delivered presentations on building effective asset forfeiture units (alongside Deputy Director of South African National Prosecution Authority); the desirability of plea bargaining in proceeds of crime cases, (alongside Kenyan Supreme Court Judge, the Hon Smokin Wanjala); and facilitated a panel discussion on a complex case scenario relating to bribery, corruption, money laundering and asset recovery.

Other (6)

  1. Consultant Editor, "Points to Prove in criminal offences", Jamaica, US State Department, Pan-American Development Foundation (May – Dec 2020).
  2. Recorder, Family Court (Sep 2019 – present).
  3. Fee-paid Judge of the First-Tier Tribunal, Health, Education and Social Care Chamber (Mar 2019 – present).
  4. Lead Lawyer (reform of post-conviction confiscation), Law Commission of England and Wales (2018 – 2021).
  5. Consultant Drafter, Mutual Assistance Rules of Court, Jamaica, British High Commission, Kingston (2016 – 2018).
  6. Consultant Drafter, Proceeds of Crime Rules of Court, Jamaica, British High Commission, Jamaica (2015 – 2017).