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Crime (general And Fraud)

1
Red Lion Chambers
Six Pump Court
2
187 Fleet Street Chambers
23ES
Drystone Chambers

Leading Silks

1
Christopher Paxton KC – Red Lion Chambers ‘Christopher is a true professional in every sense. He has gravitas in court, is respected by judges. He works incredibly hard.’
Richard Barraclough KC - Six Pump Court 'Richard is a masterclass in his field, knowledgeable, calm and precise. He is always well-prepared and a master of advocacy.'
Richard Christie KC –187 Fleet Street Chambers ‘Richard is tenacious and unstoppable in seeking to unearth points in his client’s favour.’
Karim Khalil KC –Drystone Chambers ‘Karim is a masterful advocate. His written advocacy is pitch perfect and his oral presentation is music to the ears of both a Judge and a jury. He is a highly regarded opponent. He is fair and firm in everything he does.’
Simon Spence KC –Red Lion Chambers ‘Simon has an exceptional jury manner and an excellent eye for detail. He is able to break very complex issues down to easily understandable segments for a jury. He adapts well to changing or challenging circumstances in presenting a case.’
2
Kate Lumsdon KC –23ES ‘Kate is hard working, thorough and has an impeccable court style which inspires confidence and trust. She commands the respect of judges and opponents alike.’
Eloise Marshall KC –23ES ‘Eloise meticulously prepares the case with a fine-tooth comb. She works extremely hard, is focused, and presents the case fearlessly.’

2020 Silks

Allison Summers KC –Drystone Chambers

2022 Silks

Alan Gardner KC –23ES ‘Alan is personable and a very fair prosecutor. He is always calm under pressure, works extremely hard and is a lethal cross-examiner. He is always on top of the papers and never fails to assist defence counsel. He is a genuinely decent and caring man.’

2023 Silks

Nina Ellin KC –Six Pump Court

Leading Juniors

1
Danny Moore   - Six Pump Court Chambers 'Danny is hard-working, persuasive and down to earth.'
Peter Alcock –Six Pump Court
Rowan Jenkins – Colleton Chambers
Jane Oldfield –Red Lion Chambers ‘Jane is very hardworking with excellent written skills. She has an analytical mind and client facing qualities.’
Christopher Prior – Lamb Building (Brighton) ‘Christopher is a clever and articulate barrister. He is as impressive in his pre-trial preparation as in his razor-sharp advocacy.’
Edward Renvoize –Red Lion Chambers ‘Edward is a calm and a safe pair of hands. He is well respected by judges, opponents, and solicitors.’ 
Dan Taylor  – Red Lion Chambers ‘Dan is hardworking, intelligent and has excellent judgement. He approaches each case with a critical eye, carefully analysing the evidence for weaknesses in the prosecution case. He is insightful and effective in cases involving serious general crimes such as murder.’
Andrew Thompson –Red Lion Chambers ‘Andrew is excellent at communication – both with instructing solicitor and defendants. He has an excellent manner in the court.’
2
Daniel Frier -Mountford Chambers
Rebecca Upton - Mountford Chambers 'Rebecca is thorough in preparation and drafting skeleton arguments and presenting high-quality legal arguments. She quickly grasps the issues in the cases and demonstrates a detailed knowledge which strengthens her examination of the evidence and advice provided to the clients. Her advocacy skills are very strong.'
Matthew Bagnall –187 Fleet Street Chambers ‘Matthew works incredibly hard, is very diligent in his approach to the cases and is entirely reliable. He is particularly adept at dealing with any electronic evidence and presenting it in a very jury friendly fashion.’
James Bloomer –23ES
William Carter –Drystone Chambers
Tom Dunn – Six Pump Court ‘Tom provides a detailed analysis, good reasoning and clear advice. He provides a strong advocacy in the court room.’
John FitzGerald –Six Pump Court ‘John is a very able advocate. He has a robust approach to the preparation of cases, the way he deals with clients and indeed his conduct in court.’
Sarah Gaunt –The 36 Group
Richard Kelly –Red Lion Chambers
Amy Packham – Lamb Building (Brighton) ‘Amy is extremely approachable, kind and patient. She is always willing to help and remains 100% committed to her clients. She is tenacious in her case preparation and pays attention to detail.’ 
Lynne Shirley –Drystone Chambers ‘Lynne is an extremely hardworking and conscientious barrister who goes above and beyond to provide the best representation. She seems to really care about the clients that she represents, and this is reflected in the outcomes of her cases. Her thorough knowledge of the law and effective communication also assists.’
Cyrus Shroff –Red Lion Chambers ‘Cyrus is a calm presence in court – he is always in control and forever unruffled. He is always in complete control of his case and is highly respected by the judiciary.’
3
Jonathan Atkinson – Lamb Building (Brighton) ‘Jonathan is able to put clients at ease, even when extremely anxious. He is thorough and knowledgeable about clients’ cases. Approachable and helpful.’
Kieran Brand –Six Pump Court ‘Kieran is always well prepared. He always ensures that proper court attendance notes, either in relation to trials or sentencing are made available to those instructing him and gives prompt advice about the next steps.’ 
Patrick Duffy –23ES ‘Patrick works hard on the case and explore all angles, giving considerable thought and analysis to the multiple issues in the matter and the changing shape of the trial. He manages difficult and volatile clients well.’
Steven Dyble –Red Lion Chambers
Neil FitzGibbon –187 Fleet Street Chambers ‘Neil is an excellent advocate, persuasive with juries and is thorough in preparation with a good manner with clients. He carries particular expertise in health and safety and gross negligence manslaughter cases.’
Peter Guest –187 Fleet Street Chambers  ‘Peter is highly attuned to the needs of his lay clients, is robust in his defence and is careful in strategic planning.’
Sally Hobson –The 36 Group ‘Sally is a talented and brilliant barrister. She is fearless, firm, and persistent. She can reach the heart of the issue with excellent judgement, the correct pitch, and the power of true experience.’
Rhodri James –23ES ‘Rhodri always takes on the heavy lifting of defence case preparation which makes him very attractive to instruct from a solicitor’s perspective. There is no case which is too serious or too complex for Rhodri to handle.’ 
Christopher Kerr –187 Fleet Street Chambers
Donal Lawler –187 Fleet Street Chambers ‘Donal is commercially minded and very good with clients.’
Claire Matthews –Drystone Chambers ‘Claire is a brilliant all-rounder. She is an excellent barrister in court. She is very good at conferences with the client, able to explain the law in a way they can understand, and gives an advice in a calm, measured manner no matter how emotive the subject matter is or difficult the client is. She is very efficient when it comes to case preparation, in terms of drafting documents on time, promptly reporting case results and being accessible to discuss cases.’
James McCrindell  – 23ES
Emma Nash –187 Fleet Street Chambers ‘Emma is very hardworking and highly efficient. She is a focused, diligent and intelligent advocate.’
James Onalaja –187 Fleet Street Chambers
Stephen Shay –23ES ‘Stephen is a brilliant technical advocate, a trustworthy and decent opponent and a measured advocate.’
Matthew Sorel-Cameron –Red Lion Chambers ‘Matthew is extremely able. He can see the decisive points in any given case, prioritise them, and confront or deal with them. He is always well prepared. He has distinctly professional manner in the court when presenting his case and any submissions made. He is a top-quality junior barrister in crime.’
Stephen Spence –Drystone Chambers ‘Stephen is an extremely able barrister. He has a calm but formidable cross examination style. He is an accomplished jury barrister, giving persuasive speeches. He has sound legal knowledge which is demonstrated in his oral and written submissions which are legally well founded. He is an all-round class advocate.’
Daniel Stevenson –Six Pump Court ‘Daniel works very hard, always has a complete grasp of the facts and relevant law in a case and is able to present that to the jury with ease. His cross-examination is highly skilled and always focused on the key issues. His closing addresses are powerful and persuasive. He is excellent counsel.’

Rising Stars

Emin Kandola –Six Pump Court  ‘Emin’s great strengths are charisma and charm. She commands the room with understated humour and humility.’

Crime (general and fraud) in Regional Bar

Red Lion Chambers

Red Lion Chambers is ‘a well-respected criminal set with a strong stable of well-regarded advocates’ that defends and prosecutes all crime and financial crime-related matters. Christopher Paxton KC, who is ‘extremely hard-working, determined and single-minded in the pursuit of whatever case is presenting’, successfully prosecuted a woman who murdered her husband in the presence of their two children. Simon Spence KC has expertise in handling serious violence, drugs, sexual offences, fraud, and regulatory offence cases. Junior Dan Taylor is known for his ‘sound tactical judgment and strong strategic oversight of cases.’

Testimonials

Set

‘Red Lion is very well known as a top criminal set.’

‘High quality set.’

‘Red Lion Chambers is a very strong, leading criminal set with a large number of silks and a good, broad cross-section of junior barristers.’

Clerking

‘Efficient, personable, nice to deal with.’

‘Theresa Feeney is excellent – cooperative, pleasant on the phone, efficient.’

‘The clerks’ room is highly efficient and well run by the practice manager, Mark Bennett. Two clerks, Christopher Jones and Theresa Feeney, are responsible for the East Anglian practitioners. They are both highly competent and efficient with a friendly manner that appeals to solicitors, police officers and CPS representatives alike.’ 

Work highlights

    Six Pump Court

    Six Pump Court has an ‘extremely experienced and skilled criminal team’ that is ‘versatile and prosecute and defend in the most serious cases’.. Nina Ellin KC prosecuted the parents of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, who were convicted of the child’s murder, while rising star Emin Kandola prosecuted four defendants for the stabbing of a teenage girl. Prior to his appointment to the circuit bench in Maidstone in September 2022, Oliver Saxby KC (as was) acted for a man referred to in the press as the “Tonbridge Wells Bedsit Killer”, who pleaded guilty to murdering and then sexually assaulting two women, as well as acts of necrophilia carried out decades earlier.

    Testimonials

    Set 

    ‘An excellent set, with strong depth across the board.’ 

    ‘A very good set, with a wide range of abilities in varied types of work.’ 

    Work highlights

      187 Chambers

      ‘A high-quality set’ 187 Fleet Street Chambers is well known for prosecuting and defending cases involving murders, fraud, rape, and serious sexual offences cases. Junior Neil Fitzgibbon successfully defended a railway guard prosecuted for endangering the lives of his passengers. In July 2021, Simon Mayo KC (as was) was appointed to the circuit bench at the Old Bailey.

      Testimonials

      Set

      ‘The set has a reputation for excellence in advocacy in offering first-class service.’

      ‘187 Fleet Street Chambers has a good range of counsel.’

      ‘Efficient and communicate well with instructing solicitors.’

      ‘The set has good strength in depth.’

      Clerking

      ‘John Pyne is very good at his job and is always on the phone to help.’

      ‘John Pyne, the senior clerk, is very efficient and provides a service of a high standard. Steve Parr, the deputy clerk, together with the other clerks, works really hard in providing a good service in finding replacement counsels.’

      Work highlights

        23ES

        23ES is ‘one of the largest criminal sets with a wide pool of counsel at all levels’. Kate Lumsdon KC successfully prosecuted a man who murdered his girlfriend in a room at the Holiday Inn in Greenwich. James Bloomer successfully defended a man against allegations of sexual abuse of his niece five decades earlier. Alan Gardner KC and Nathan Rasiah KC took silk in March 2022.

        Testimonials

        Set

        ‘Chambers has an excellent array of counsel across general crime, from pupils to silks, confident in their expertise.’

        ’23ES is one of the best sets in the country, the best prosecution and judge-breeding set in the country. Uniformly capable barristers.’

        ’23ES is a strong prosecution set with a number of brilliant barristers at all levels. It is also a very influential set.’  

        Clerking

        ‘The criminal clerks are good. Adam Chapman is excellent, a decent person who is really engaged in what he does, very responsive, and extremely good at his job. Adam sets a very high benchmark for those working with him.’

        ‘The clerks’ room adopts modern practices and matches the skills of each of their barristers to the particular instructions.’ 

        Drystone Chambers

        Drystone Chambers is a leading specialist criminal chambers with members who prosecute and defend across a wide range of criminal cases, including murders, sexual offences, and serious violence. Karim Khalil KC’s practice is an even split of defence and prosecution and is well known for calling and cross-examining experts from all fields. Lynne Shirley has extensive expertise in handling cases involving serious sexual offences or complex mental health and learning disabilities.

        Testimonials

        Set 

        ‘Drystone Chambers is a good reliable set.’ 

        ‘Drystone Chambers is a ‘go-to set’ with excellent barristers and a good depth of counsel.’ 

        ‘Drystone Chambers is sufficiently large to offer a range of counsel with various specialisms to cover most courts in England and Wales.’  

        Clerking 

        ‘Clerks are helpful and experienced.’ 

        ‘The clerks’ room is friendly and approachable and has excellent communication skills.’ 

        ‘Very capable and efficient team. Particular standouts are Steve McCarthy and David Cox. Always accessible, accommodating and well organised.’ 

        Work highlights