Rhiannon Crimmins > Chambers of Sally O’Neill and Michael Holland KC > London, England > Barrister Profile

Rhiannon Crimmins

Position

Called 1999

Career

Rhiannon is an extremely experienced, highly committed and fearless criminal defence practitioner. Over her career she has been instructed in over 18 murder trials and regularly defends those accused of terrorism, firearms, gang-related crime and fraud as a leading junior, led junior, and junior alone.

Rhiannon has developed an impressive reputation across the board, being described by lay clients as “outstanding”; by her instructing solicitors as “a leading light in her profession”, and by the Judiciary as “first class”. It is hardly surprising, therefore that she is consistently instructed in high profile and unusual cases that generate considerable media interest.

Past examples include the matter of R v R in 2018, an allegation of computer hacking involving a large UK telecoms company, spanning international borders, in which the defendant was acquitted. In 2017, she appeared as led junior, in the infamous ‘Pentonville Murder’ trial, again her defendant was acquitted. More recently, in R v P 2019, her defendant was acquitted of murdering her 7 month old, a child who suffered from a myriad of health complications. Rhiannon was led by by Caroline Carberry QC, in the trial before Mrs Justice McGowan QC.

She has just concluded the case of R v MS & Anr, in which her teenage client was alleged to have encouraged right wing/neo nazi terrorism and is now awaiting to defend one of 4 defendants accused of the murder of 17 year’ old Jodie Chesney, to be heard at the Central Criminal Court in September 2019.

Rhiannon puts client care at the heart of her practice. She is particularly approachable to lay and professional clients alike and regularly complemented by lay clients for her down-to-earth approach and fearless commitment to those she defends. She is particularly adept in cases with religious and cultural sensitivities as well as those defendants who are considered vulnerable – she considers that her past expertise in human rights and immigration law, appearing in the High Court and Court of Appeal, has provided her with an excellent foundation in this regard.

She is an impressive jury advocate and has developed a reputation as a truly exceptional lawyer in written and oral legal argument. She is dedicated to meticulous preparation which is borne out by consistently good results.