Crime

Criminal law has been practised uninterrupted at 3 Paper Buildings for more than 100 years and our Criminal Group rightly enjoys a formidable reputation. Consisting of nine silks and thirty-five juniors we offer an unrivalled strength in depth in all areas of criminal law.

Our members have prosecuted and defended in some of the most infamous and important criminal trials of recent years. Examples include:

• R v Vincent Tabak - Murder of Joanna Yeates. Nigel Lickley, Q.C. led Nicholas Rowland in the prosecution of Vincent Tabak for the murder of Joanna Yeates at Bristol Crown Court.
• R v Wright (aka the Milkman) - the defendant was said to be the head of one of the largest and most sophisticated organisations ever to be involved in the large scale importation of cocaine into the UK.
• R v Clark - the first prosecution brought for solicitation to murder over the internet.
• R v Sharon Carr - a sixteen year old girl convicted of murdering and mutilating in macabre fashion, when only twelve.
• R v Rathmalane - the murder of one Buddhist monk by another,referred to in the national press as "the body in the suitcase” trial.

We are rightly regarded as one of the leading sets in the field of Proceeds of Crime and in recent years have developed a particular strength in corporate manslaughter and heavyweight fraud. Many of our Criminal Group members also have expertise in regulatory work involving matters as diverse as fisheries, animal welfare, health and safety, Jockey Club disciplinary hearings and proceedings before the General Medical Council.

Our Criminal Group includes no less than nineteen members who sit as recorders, eight category 4 prosecutors and three standing counsel to HMRC. Our group size and geographical reach allows us to offer a comprehensive service from first appearance in the magistrates’ court through to appeal hearings in the Court of Appeal, House of Lords and the European Court. Our members are on hand to advise both at short notice and out of hours and often do so at the very earliest stage of criminal proceedings for both prosecution and defence. We have first-rate conference facilities available at our centres in London, Bristol, Bournemouth, Oxford and Winchester. Equipped with modern conferencing technology we are able to link to anywhere in the world.

We are accredited by the Law Society to offer Continuing Professional Development courses and our Criminal Group provides an annual series of lectures across the country.