Mr David Temkin KC KC > Exchange Chambers > Manchester, England > Barrister Profile
Exchange Chambers Offices
201 DEANSGATE
MANCHESTER
M3 3NW
England
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Mr David Temkin KC KC
Work Department
Criminal; Regulatory
Position
David Temkin KC is a stand-out silk who is in extremely high demand. His reputation is for meticulous attention to detail, rigorous advocacy and exceptional client care. He prosecutes and defends in equal measure and with equal commitment. For many years, David has been recommended in the UK’s Legal Directories where descriptions include “thorough, meticulous and courageous”, “extraordinarily good” and “a lovely person to work with”. The Legal 500 2023 notes David’s ability to “lead a jury to exactly where they need to be, in order to get the result he has been instructed to achieve”.
David was appointed King’s Counsel in March 2021, after two decades specialising in criminal work (prosecuting and defending). Prior to taking silk, David was a Grade 4 Prosecutor and an approved advocate on both the Serious Crime Group Panel and the Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Panel. He spent 15 years on the Attorney-General’s List of Specialist Regulatory Advocates. He acted for the General Medical Council for a number of years. He represented police officers before their disciplinary tribunal and at the Crown Court.
Highlights of David’s work as King’s Counsel include prosecuting and defending murders (domestic and gangland), manslaughters, shootings and drug conspiracies. David undertakes both legally-aided and privately-funded work. He has enjoyed particular successes defending in privately-funded sex cases.
David sits in the Crown Court as a criminal recorder (appointed in 2018; authorised to sit on serious sexual cases in 2019). He is an approved advocacy trainer for the Inner Temple (where he was elected as a Governing Bencher in 2021) and for the Northern Circuit (where he is Head of Continuing Education). David conducts advocacy training internationally. In 2023, he trained prosecutors at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. This year, he has trained advocates in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. David is currently Visiting Professor at the BPP University Law School.
Career
Called 2000; Silk 2021; Category 4 Prosecutor; Attorney General’s Unified List of Prosecutors (2006); National List of Specialist Regulatory Advocates in Health & Safety and Environmental Law (2012); Visiting Lecturer in “Professional Discipline” at the BPP University on the Bar Professional Training Course; Trainer on courses around the UK for Healthcare Professionals and Medical Expert Witnesses
Memberships
Criminal Bar Association
Education
- Oxford University, BA Hons, Modern History, 1991-1994
- Open University, Post-Graduate Certificate In Education, 1995
- City University, Graduate Diploma In Law, 1997-8
- Inns of Court School of Law, Bar Vocational Course, 1998-9
Leisure
- Trainer on courses around the UK for Healthcare Professionals and Medical Expert Witnesses
- Junior of the Northern Circuit (2003)
- Past winner of The Times Newspaper/Thomson Holidays Young Travel Writer of the Year
- Drumming
Lawyer Rankings
Regional Bar > Northern Circuit > Crime (general and fraud)
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 2David Temkin KC – Exchange Chambers ‘David is the first choice for homicide cases, as he is extremely thorough and prepares meticulous documentation to assist the court at each and every hearing, not just trial. He strikes the perfect balance of being approachable and accessible, but robust when it is necessary, and he is the model modern silk.’
Exchange Chambers is praised as ‘the go-to set for serious criminal work‘, with members called upon to defend and prosecute at all levels of court across the North West of England. The set has a strong bench of silks, including Ben Myers KC, whose practice encompasses the entirety of criminal law, from murder, manslaughter, rape, and sexual offences, to high-value fraud, money laundering, and drug trafficking – of recent note, he represented Lucy Letby, the former neonatal nurse convicted of the murder of seven infants and the attempted murder of six more after a ten-month trial. David Temkin KC is another notable criminal law silk handling both defence and prosecution work, while Imran Shafi KC exclusively defends in a range of criminal trials, including murders, complex fraud, and drug conspiracies. Head of the set’s criminal group Richard Littler KC has significant expertise in terrorism cases, and he also represented a fifteen-year-old autistic, mute boy, one of two defendants convicted of the murder of transgender teenager Brianna Ghey in Liverpool. Mark Rhind KC is another active silk who frequently handles multi-handed murder cases, as well as pension and timeshare frauds. Among the juniors, Damian Nolan predominately acts for the defence and his expertise spans across terrorism cases and international drug conspiracies, while Ian Whitehurst is notable for his expertise in cyber-related criminal activity. David Toal has expertise in prosecuting serious sexual offences, and he also prosecuted American boxing trainer Brian McIntyre for possession of a firearm – illegal in the UK but licensed in the US – that was found in his suitcase at Manchester Airport. Michael Lavery is another notable name, and he mostly handles defence work in fraud cases.