Wayne Barnes, Barrister at Squire Patton Boggs
What does a Rugby World Cup Final have in common with a high-profile investigation? More than you might think.
We sat down with Wayne Barnes, partner at Squire Patton Boggs and one of the most experienced international rugby referees in history, to talk about decision-making under pressure, lessons from elite sport, and how the legal sector can get better at learning, adapting, and embracing new tools.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your background?
I’m a member of the Government Investigations and White Collar (‘GIWC’) team based in London office. I joined Squire Patton Boggs (‘SPB’), four years ago when the firm took the decision to establish a European GIWC Practice under the leadership of Hannah Laming – building on the successful US and Middle East practice.
Photo: Wayne Barnes
Four years ago, we were a team of four, but we have grown to a team of nine, and we now have GIWC partners in France and Madrid too. We are currently instructed in one of the highest profile SFO prosecutions and represent some of the World’s highest profile companies. Our team contains four barristers, of which I am one, and we continue to develop the next generation of White Collar lawyers as we have taken on two NQs in the past two years, and – due to the variety of our work and the cases in which we are currently instructed – we continue to be one of the most popular practice area for our trainees and Vac Schemers.
Prior to joining SPB, I spent 10 years at a boutique White Collar firm representing global clients who were being investigated or prosecuted by the Serious Fraud Office and the US Department of Justice. Those 10 years saw me conduct internal investigations – across multiple jurisdictions – in some of the most high profile corporate prosecutions.
I am also a former international rugby union referee and has presided over more International Rugby matches than anyone else in history, including the 2023 Rugby World Cup Final. I am currently a board member of the Rugby Football Union, and an independent member of the England Cricket Board’s Finance, Audit and Risk Committee. Though the GIWC team works across numerous sectors – with my professional sporting background, and sport’s governance roles – I have a particular focus on the sporting sector. Our sports team – led by Stephen Sampson – has some of the biggest teams, leagues, and sports across the globe as clients, and it is always an exciting sector to work in.
What are the biggest similarities between officiating a Rugby World Cup Final and life at the Bar as a criminal barrister?
The two roles have a lot in common. As a junior criminal barrister, I often met my client for the first time in the cells of a Magistrate Court, an hour before they are due in court. The client is often apprehensive, nervous and may need some direction.
I always thought the client wanted three things from me:
- A comprehensive knowledge of the relevant law and how it relates to their case
- For me to listen to them
- For me to communicate in a succinct, understandable, and honest way.
As a Rugby Union referee, the first time I often met the captain was in the changing room, an hour before they are due on the pitch. The captain is often apprehensive, nervous and may need some direction.
I always thought the Captain wanted three things from me:
- A comprehensive knowledge of the laws of the game and how they relate to the match
- For me to listen to them
- For me to communicate in a succinct, understandable, and honest way.
Those three themes have been – and continue to be – woven throughout both of my careers.
I have also taken learnings from one career into the other, to help me continually improve. A good example of this relates to preparation. As a barrister my preparation was meticulous. I knew a case inside out, I would prepare for how I would respond to different lines of enquiries from the prosecution. I would prepare what I would say if the Judge interjected in a certain way, I would prepare for what my client might say or do. In short, I didn’t want anything to take me by surprise in the court room.
I wanted to be the same on the rugby pitch – so that nothing could take me by surprise. We all respond better – and usually more accurately – if we have thought about a situation before it happens. So I looked at how teams attacked, how they defended, when they kicked the ball, when they passed the ball. The areas where they were likely to give away penalties. So going into games, I wasn’t surprised by anything. As I said, the two roles have so much in common.
The Bar has traditionally been slower to adopt new tools than other parts of the legal sector — what do you think will drive more meaningful adoption among barristers?
One of the great things about joining an International Law like SPB, is not only that we are a full-service law firm, but due to our size, we can also invest in areas such as AI. We are currently looking at what AI tools will meaningfully enhance our value to our clients while still ensuring we deliver excellent legal services.
Barristers – and the GIWC team – are well accustomed to eDiscovery tools – and we are currently looking at ways to use AI is to reduce data volumes before ingestion them into our electronic discovery platform, and therefore improving efficiency and insight early in litigation matters. It is hoped that the AI tool will operate at the top of the discovery “funnel,” identifying key documents, custodians, and thematic gaps earlier than current workflows.
SPB have set up a Steering Committee to identify areas of where AI may increase our value proposition to clients and create efficiencies for the Firm, and I know numerous Barristers’ Chambers are doing the same thing.
You bring a perspective from elite sport into law — how valuable is it for the legal industry to look outside itself when thinking about innovation and performance?
I’ve always looked at ways of integrating things I’ve learnt from sport into my legal role – and vice versa. During the lead up to the 2015 Rugby World Cup – which was hosted in England – the match officials visited the Royal Marines training base in Lympston as part of their preparation. We not only trained with officers from the Special Boat Service, but we spent time with them so we could learn about their role, comprehend their training regime, and so we could understand what makes them one of the most elite – and revered – groups in the World.
As a referee, I always reviewed my games to see what I had got right, and identify what I had got wrong, but the Marines talked about the need for a review to take place immediately – the ‘Hot Review’ as they called it. They reviewed decisions and scenarios immediately after they were completed, meaning feelings hadn’t diluted and the opinions of others hadn’t influenced their own.
I introduced the Hot Review into my refereeing career, and so immediately after a game, we would grab a quick shower to gather our thoughts, and then the team of officials would sit down to discuss what had worked, what could be improved and how other team members had made them feel during the game. Immediately, post match, we were looking at ways of improving for the next 80 minutes.
In my experience, lawyers don’t review with such detail, they don’t analyse where they have performed well and they don’t identify what areas may needed tweaking. But I do now. At the end of a case, at the end of an internal investigation, before we move on, we discuss as a team what went well, what we could improve, and how do we get better for the next time. The perfect example of the legal profession looking outside of itself when thinking about improving performance – and something which I continue to do to this day.
Hear Wayne Barnes live at Legal Geek Conference 2026 (14-15 October, London), alongside 250+ speakers from across the legal industry and beyond.
