Barclays' senior lawyer Judith Shepherd to leave

One of Barclays' most senior lawyers, who has been questioned as part of a criminal probe into its dealings with Qatar during the financial crisis, will leave the bank as several key legal battles loom.

Judith Shepherd, the general counsel of Barclays' investment-banking division, will leave by mid-2015, according to an internal memo seen by the Financial Times that praised her "deep expertise, sound counsel and influential leadership".

No reason was given in the memo for the departure of Ms Shepherd, who joined Barclays in 2006 and sits on the executive committee of its investment bank. The Lawyer, the trade publication, which first reported her exit, linked it to a wider restructuring of the bank's internal legal team. Two people close to Ms Shepherd stressed her exit was not linked to a Serious Fraud Office probe.

The FT identified Ms Shepherd in September as one of about a dozen current and former bank employees who have been interviewed under caution by the UK's SFO as part of its investigation into the bank's arrangements with Qatar ahead of an emergency cash call in 2008, which enabled Barclays to avoid a government bailout.

The investigation, for which the SFO received special government funding, has included some of the most senior figures of Barclays' former management, including Bob Diamond, its former chief executive, and John Varley, the former chairman.

Ms Shepherd is the second top lawyer to leave the bank. Mark Harding, group general counsel at the time of the £5.8bn cash injection from Qatari investors, has also been interviewed under caution by the SFO. He left the bank in 2013. Bob Hoyt took over as general counsel at Barclays just over a year ago and sits on the executive committee.

Interviews under caution are when suspects are read their rights. The SFO has not made any charging decisions in its investigation.

Ms Shepherd's lawyer, Barclays and the SFO declined to comment.

Barclays is facing legal battles on several other fronts, including an expected settlement with US and UK regulators over allegations of manipulation of foreign exchange markets and an ongoing lawsuit over claims that it misled investors in its anonymous "dark pool" trading venue in the US.

The bank has suffered a string of senior departures since announcing a drastic restructuring of its investment bank last year, including Eric Bommensath, head of its non-core unit, and Skip McGee, head of its US operation. Sir David Walker is stepping down this year after three years as chairman and will be replaced by John McFarlane from Aviva.

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