Set Profile > Chambers of P Mendelle QC, G Carter-Stephenson QC & J Dein QC > London , London

Chambers of P Mendelle QC, G Carter-Stephenson QC & J Dein QC Offices

Chambers of P Mendelle QC, G Carter-Stephenson QC & J Dein QC
25 Bedford Row
LONDON
WC1R 4HD
London
Visit website 020 7067 1500 020 7067 1507

Living Wage

Chambers of P Mendelle QC, G Carter-Stephenson QC & J Dein QC > The Legal 500 Rankings

Crime Tier 1

'An excellent set with high-calibre barristers', 25 Bedford Row is a defence-only set that handles, alongside privately funded work, some of the most difficult publicly funded work, often including multi-defendant violent crime cases. Tyrone Smith QC represented a teenage drug dealer who, having been arrested and found with a 30cm knife four days before, stabbed a youth worker who asked him to stop selling drugs outside his home; the defendant was found not guilty of murder and convicted of wounding with intent. Turning to criminal appeals, Jeremy Dein QC represented far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon in a successful appeal against his initial committal to prison for contempt of court in May 2018 for interfering with sexual offence trials subject to reporting restrictions in Canterbury and Leeds. Among the juniors, Melanie Simpson represented a Hungarian woman who, along with her special constable husband, was convicted of trafficking women to a brothel they ran in an apartment block in Chelsea.

2018 Silks

Adrian Eissa QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ A meticulous, technical advocate who is highly rated in the profession. ’
Ranked: Tier 1

2019 Silks

Simon Pentol QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ A great advocate, and fearless. ’
Ranked: Tier 1

Leading Juniors

Aisling Byrnes - 25 Bedford Row ‘ When she walks into court, you know she means business. ’
Ranked: Tier 1

Arlette Piercy - 25 Bedford Row ‘ An old-school "proper brief", particularly good with sensitive and vulnerable clients. ’
Ranked: Tier 1

Emma Akuwudike - 25 Bedford Row ‘ A tough, no-nonsense advocate who delivers results. ’
Ranked: Tier 2

Carolina Guiloff - 25 Bedford Row ‘ Dedicated to putting her clients' defence firmly in the minds of the jury, ’
Ranked: Tier 2

Michael Neofytou - 25 Bedford Row ‘ A big personality – judges and juries like him. ’
Ranked: Tier 2

Laurie-Anne Power - 25 Bedford Row ‘ An extremely talented, highly in demand advocate. ’
Ranked: Tier 2

Melanie Simpson - 25 Bedford Row ‘ A go-to advocate to deal with a difficult client facing a seemingly overwhelming case. ’
Ranked: Tier 2

Ben Smitten - 25 Bedford Row ‘ A canny tactician with sound judgement. ’
Ranked: Tier 2

Alex Di Francesco - 25 Bedford Row ‘ Charming and authoritative in and out of court. ’
Ranked: Tier 3

Sebastian Gardiner - 25 Bedford Row ‘ A fearless and dogged advocate in challenging criminal trials where prosecution evidence must be faced head-on. ’
Ranked: Tier 3

Alex Jamieson - 25 Bedford Row ‘ He has a controlled and measured approach to advocacy. ’
Ranked: Tier 3

Sheryl Nwosu - 25 Bedford Row ‘ She has a great ability to think on her feet in court and adapt her advocacy style to the witness before her, making her an excellent cross-examiner. ’
Ranked: Tier 3

Beth O'Reilly - 25 Bedford Row ‘ A committed advocate with an engaging, jury-friendly manner. ’
Ranked: Tier 3

Osman Osman - 25 Bedford Row ‘ A feisty jury advocate with an affable style. ’
Ranked: Tier 3

Matthew Radstone - 25 Bedford Row ‘ His speeches are a cut above – his clients comment on how engaging they are. ’
Ranked: Tier 3

Rebecca Randall - 25 Bedford Row ‘ Juries are genuinely engaged in listening to what she has to say. ’
Ranked: Tier 3

Monica Stevenson - 25 Bedford Row ‘ Great at trial, particularly during cross-examination. ’
Ranked: Tier 3

Dominic Thomas - 25 Bedford Row ‘ Highly intelligent, with an original and persuasive style of advocacy. ’
Ranked: Tier 3

Helen Valley - 25 Bedford Row ‘ She has a calming presence with an air of understated assurance. ’
Ranked: Tier 3

Lisa Wilson - 25 Bedford Row ‘ A good battler. ’
Ranked: Tier 3

David Wood - 25 Bedford Row ‘ He shows great initiative and gets on with it. ’
Ranked: Tier 3

Leading Silks

George Carter-Stephenson QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ A fantastic jury-friendly advocate who ensures they are engaged throughout the case. ’
Ranked: Tier 1

Jeremy Dein QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ The more complex and intense the case, the more he thrives. ’
Ranked: Tier 1

Courtenay Griffiths QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ The best orator in the profession – simply one of the greatest of all time. ’
Ranked: Tier 1

Paul Mendelle QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ One of the silkiest, smoothest advocates in the profession. ’
Ranked: Tier 1

John Cooper QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ Instructed in serious violent crime cases. ’
Ranked: Tier 2

Peter Doyle QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ A real gentleman of the profession – it is a privilege to watch him at work. ’
Ranked: Tier 2

Diana Ellis QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ Extremely thorough and incredibly persistent. ’
Ranked: Tier 2

Paul Hynes QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ A free-flowing advocate who tests the Crown's case to its limits. ’
Ranked: Tier 2

Paul Keleher QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ A robust advocate who is great on disclosure issues. ’
Ranked: Tier 2

Rudi Fortson QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ Well-known as a specialist in illegal and semi-legal drugs and their scientific components. ’
Ranked: Tier 3

Tom Price QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ Very charming with juries and has a really nice touch with lay clients. ’
Ranked: Tier 3

Jo Sidhu QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ He defends in a range of homicide cases. ’
Ranked: Tier 3

Tyrone Smith QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ He finds alternative angles in cases others fail to see. ’
Ranked: Tier 3

Fraud: crime Tier 1

'Excellent set' 25 Bedford Row houses a team of 'robust defence practitioners'. The group has been handling, among other areas, high-profile VAT frauds, boiler room scams, and carbon credit cases. Recent highlights include George Carter-Stephenson QC acting in the Operation Treacle £10m fraud case, concerning the resale of tickets for gigs and events.

2018 Silks

Adrian Eissa QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ Very adept at tactically dissecting evidence. ’
Ranked: Tier 1

2019 Silks

Nicola Howard QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ She brings a sense of calm to a chaotic situation. ’
Ranked: Tier 1

Simon Pentol QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ Clients appreciate his flair in the courtroom. ’
Ranked: Tier 1

Leading Juniors

Nathaniel Rudolf - 25 Bedford Row ‘ Very methodical and affable with clients. ’
Ranked: Tier 1

Samantha Riggs - 25 Bedford Row ‘ She leaves no stone unturned in her efforts to present the best possible case for her clients. ’
Ranked: Tier 2

Osman Osman - 25 Bedford Row ‘ Very experienced in handling complex fraud work. ’
Ranked: Tier 3

Geoffrey Payne - 25 Bedford Row ‘ Courteous yet fearless. ’
Ranked: Tier 3

Colin Wells - 25 Bedford Row ‘ A canny hand who displays the human touch with clients and juries. ’
Ranked: Tier 3

Sonal Dashani - 25 Bedford Row ‘ A smooth cross-examiner. ’
Ranked: Tier 4

Michael Gomulka - 25 Bedford Row ‘ Recent work includes VAT and investment fraud cases. ’
Ranked: Tier 4

Alex Jamieson - 25 Bedford Row ‘ Hardworking, with a brilliant brain. ’
Ranked: Tier 4

Dermot Keating - 25 Bedford Row ‘ Always a happy face during the most difficult of cases. ’
Ranked: Tier 4

Robert Shaw - 25 Bedford Row ‘ A very bright and polished junior. ’
Ranked: Tier 4

Leading Silks

George Carter-Stephenson QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ He combines a fraud practitioner’s eye for detail with the advocacy style of a street fighter. ’
Ranked: Tier 1

Peter Doyle QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ He is an imperturbable silk. ’
Ranked: Tier 3

Paul Hynes QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ His work includes money laundering cases. ’
Ranked: Tier 3

Tom Price QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ He has a great touch with lay clients and very charming with juries. ’
Ranked: Tier 3

Nigel Sangster QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ He has an impressively calm and assured court demeanour. ’
Ranked: Tier 3

Business and regulatory crime (including global investigations) Tier 3

25 Bedford Row's members have been kept busy handling a range of financial crime cases; for example, new silk Nicola Howard QC acted in a bribery case concerning inducements to obtain contacts via a public official in Korea. She is appearing in a case spanning over 20 jurisdictions, including Moscow, London, Paris, Hong Kong, Madrid, and Amsterdam, concerning alleged defrauding of $180m from a Russian banking group via fraudulent trades in emerging markets warrants.

2018 Silks

Adrian Eissa QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ He is extremely hardworking and a very safe pair of hands. ’
Ranked: Tier 1

2019 Silks

Nicola Howard QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ She is a calm and confident advocate. ’
Ranked: Tier 1

Leading Juniors

Nathaniel Rudolf - 25 Bedford Row ‘ He has a formidable intellect. ’
Ranked: Tier 1

Duncan Jones - 25 Bedford Row ‘ He is personable with clients and calm in a crisis. ’
Ranked: Tier 3

Leading Silks

George Carter-Stephenson QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ A powerhouse of knowledge; he combines a practical approach with a Rolls-Royce service. ’
Ranked: Tier 1

International crime and extradition Tier 3

At 25 Bedford Row, 'hugely talented advocate' Sam Blom-Cooper is instructed by the UN Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT), as co-counsel, to represent Augustin Ngirabatware (the former Minister of Planning in Rwanda) in an appeal concerning the client's convictions for involvement in the 1994 Rwandan genocide; the defendant was originally sentenced to 35 years' imprisonment by the Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in 2012, which was reduced in 2014 to 30 years by the MICT Appeals Chamber.

Leading Juniors

Sam Blom-Cooper - 25 Bedford Row ‘ A brilliant extradition junior, who goes the extra mile for his clients. ’
Ranked: Tier 3

Leading Silks

Diana Ellis QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ A highly impressive silk. ’
Ranked: Tier 2

Courtenay Griffiths QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ His persuasiveness emanates around the whole courtroom. ’
Ranked: Tier 2

David Hooper QC - 25 Bedford Row ‘ He combines impressive advocacy with an incisive eye for the details of a case. ’
Ranked: Tier 2

Set overviews: England and Wales

The ‘reliable’ and ‘well-run’ 25 Bedford Row has ‘all the advantages of a bigger, traditional set’ with ‘a good number of robust defence practitioners, well versed in POCA, at all levels of call’ and is an ‘excellent, top-notch choice for white collar work’. ‘The client care and service provided to lay clients and instructing solicitors exceeds expectations.’ Chambers has been strengthened following Nicola Howard and Simon Pentol taking silk in 2019, and Mark Stevens and Lisa Wilson-Taylor, formerly of 2 King's Bench Walk and Furnival Chambers respectively, joining chambers. Director of clerking Guy Williams ‘offers a great service’ and leads the ‘extremely responsive’ clerks’ room which is ‘always on hand to help and are sensible in their choice of counsel’. Deputy director of clerking Emma Makepeace is ‘a standout clerk’ who is ‘personable, honest, gets to know the solicitor and, therefore, has a unique ability to match the solicitor with the appropriate barrister for a particular case’. Senior practice clerk Alfie Lee ‘constantly raises the standard of clerking’; ‘he is contactable 24/7 and nothing is too much trouble. He is able to find sensible representation for a client regardless of the short notice of instructions or the location of court’. Offices in: London

Chambers of P Mendelle QC, G Carter-Stephenson QC & J Dein QC > Firm Profile

 

This innovative set specialises in every aspect of modern defence advocacy, acting in the very highest profile cases. Having achieved and maintained the quality standard for the Bar (BarMark) since 1999, chambers is consistently assessed as a centre of excellence.

The set: 25 Bedford Row is widely recognised as the leading defence chambers in its core practice areas, due to its client-focused, high-quality service. Its reputation for excellence is best demonstrated by involvement in almost every recent major criminal trial, whether in fraud, organised crime or murder. Considered to have unsurpassed defence expertise in fraud and financial litigation matters and for providing advisory services and advocacy of the highest quality. Regulatory defence includes professional disciplinary and environmental law. Experienced in the conduct of criminal related civil applications including restraint, Data Protection Act and search warrants and costs. The excellence extends to the high quality of its staff who have a justified reputation for for their knowledge, efficiency and integrity.

Types of work undertaken: Criminal: unrivalled defence experience and expertise across the entire spectrum of criminal law, Covering all aspects of serious crime including murder, organised crime, drug trafficking, money laundering and crimes of extreme and sexual violence. Members also act for UK nationals charged with serious criminal offences in other national jurisdictions. Private client specialists accept instructions on all criminal matters, focusing on reducing the impact on individual reputations, careers and personal lives.

Fraud and financial litigation: specialising in defending individuals and corporations against allegations of international, corporate and financial crime. Providing a full range of advice and representation in both the criminal and civil aspects of this discipline from preliminary stages, including restraint, right through to appeal, confiscation and civil recovery. Assistance is also provided in relation to risk management and compliance, training and advisory work.

Professional disciplinary and regulatory: defence of individuals appearing before their professional bodies, disciplinary tribunals and regulatory authorities. Including healthcare professionals, solicitors, police officers, accountants, sports people and sports organisations. Expertise in all areas of contentious regulatory work in relation to environmental law and health and safety work, acting for employees,  directors and companies.

Environmental/Health & Safety: Experienced in health and safety investigations and prosecutions, acting in respect of allegations of corporate manslaughter and other prosecutions where serious injury has been caused. Experts advise and appear in relation to the full spectrum of Environmental law, including waste management offences.

Civil liberties and human rights: acting for persons whose human rights are infringed in a wide range of areas of law including actions against the police and public authorities, extradition, international law, inquests, mental health, prisoners rights and public and administrative law. Experts are involved in judicial review and appellate cases and challenges to decisions of a wide range of public authorities.

International work: experts in defending those accused of offences perpetrated by states, including war crime and other human rights abuses and offences against states, including espionage and terrorism. Advice and representation in international human rights law and trans-national justice issues for individuals, governmental organisations and major NGOs in a wide range of jurisdictions. Members act for and advise clients who face action from foreign governments including for the freezing or forfeiture of their assets.

 

Main Contacts

Department Name Email Telephone
Director of Clerking Guy Williams
Deputy Director of Clerking Emma Makepeace
Senior Practice Clerk Alfie Lee
Members of Chambers CARTER-STEPHENSON QC, George (1975) (QC 1998)
Members of Chambers MENDELLE QC, Paul (1981) (QC 2006)
Members of Chambers DEIN QC, Jeremy (1982) (QC 2003)
Members of Chambers SANGSTER QC, Nigel (1976) (QC 1998)
Members of Chambers GRIFFITHS QC, Courtenay (1980) (QC 1998)
Members of Chambers ELLIS QC, Diana (1978) (QC 2001)
Members of Chambers DOYLE QC, Peter (1975) (QC 2002)
Members of Chambers KELEHER QC, Paul (1980) (QC 2009)
Members of Chambers HOOPER QC, David (1971) (QC 2010)
Members of Chambers FORTSON QC, Rudi (1976) (QC 2010)
Members of Chambers COOPER QC, John (1983) (QC 2010)
Members of Chambers PRICE QC, Tom (1985) (QC 2010)
Members of Chambers HYNES QC, Paul (1987) (QC 2010)
Members of Chambers SIDHU QC, Jo (1993) (QC 2012)
Members of Chambers SMITH QC, Tyrone (1994) (QC 2014)
Members of Chambers EISSA QC, Adrian (1988) (QC 2018)
Members of Chambers PENTOL QC, Simon (1982) (QC 2019)
Members of Chambers HOWARD QC, Nicola (1995) (QC 2019)
Members of Chambers MITCHELL, Jonathan (1974)
Members of Chambers BEYTS, Chester (1978)
Members of Chambers MALEY, Bill (1982)
Members of Chambers WELLS, Colin (1987)
Members of Chambers VALLEY, Helen (1990)
Members of Chambers PIERCY, Arlette (1990)
Members of Chambers AKUWUDIKE, Emma (1992)
Members of Chambers POTTER, Harry (1993)
Members of Chambers BYRNES, Aisling (1994)
Members of Chambers OSMAN, Osman (1995)
Members of Chambers GUILOFF, Carolina (1996)
Members of Chambers RIGGS, Samantha (1996)
Members of Chambers RUDOLF, Nathaniel (1996)
Members of Chambers MURRAY, Daniel (1996)
Members of Chambers GARDINER, Sebastian (1997)
Members of Chambers KEATING, Dermot (1997)
Members of Chambers SIMPSON, Melanie (1998)
Members of Chambers THOMAS, Dominic (1998)
STEVENS, Mark (1998)
Members of Chambers NEOFYTOU, Michael (1999)
Members of Chambers O'REILLY, Beth (1999)
Members of Chambers SMITTEN, Ben (1999)
Members of Chambers POWER, Laurie-Anne (2000)
Members of Chambers NWOSU, Sheryl (2000)
Members of Chambers PAYNE, Geoffrey (2000)
Members of Chambers GOMULKA, Michael (2002)
Members of Chambers DASHANI, Sonal (2002)
Members of Chambers STEVENSON, Monica (2004)
Members of Chambers LAZARUS, Paul (2017) Higher Rights (2005)
Members of Chambers RADSTONE, Matthew (2005)
Members of Chambers RANDALL, Rebecca (2005)
Member of Chambers BLOM-COOPER, Sam (2006)
Members of Chambers CHADWICK, Daniel (2006)
Member of Chambers WILSON, Lisa (2006)
Members of Chambers JAMIESON, Alex (2007)
Members of Chambers MALHOTRA, Priya (2007)
Members of Chambers WOOD, David (2007)
Members of Chambers DI FRANCESCO, Alex (2008)
Members of Chambers SHAW, Robert (2008)
Members of Chambers KUMAR, Sushil (2009)
Members of Chambers STUART-SMITH, Emma (2009)
Members of Chambers JOHNSON, Abimbola (2011)
Members of Chambers DICKSON, Henry (2012)
Members of Chambers JONES, Duncan (2012)
LYNCH, Leon (2012)
Members of Chambers COLLIER, Laura (2013)
Members of Chambers FLAVIN, Tom (2013)
Members of Chambers ISLAM, Zeenat (2013)
Members of Chambers LLOYD-OWEN, Natasha (2013)
Members of Chambers LEWIS, Joy (2014)
Members of Chambers SIMPEH, Vida (2014)
Members of Chambers ROWAN, Kerrie-Ann (2015)
Members of Chambers MURPHY, Nick (2015)

Lawyer Profiles

Photo Name Position Profile
Emma Akuwudike photo Emma Akuwudike View Profile
Chester Beyts photo Chester Beyts View Profile
Sam Blom-Cooper photo Sam Blom-Cooper View Profile
Aisling Byrnes photo Aisling Byrnes View Profile
George Carter-Stephenson QC photo George Carter-Stephenson QC View Profile
Daniel Chadwick photo Daniel Chadwick View Profile
Laura Collier photo Laura Collier View Profile
John Cooper QC photo John Cooper QC View Profile
Sonal Dashani photo Sonal Dashani View Profile
Jeremy Dein QC photo Jeremy Dein QC View Profile
Alex Di Francesco photo Alex Di Francesco View Profile
Henry Dickson photo Henry Dickson View Profile
Peter Doyle QC photo Peter Doyle QC View Profile
Adrian Eissa QC photo Adrian Eissa QC View Profile
Diana Ellis QC photo Diana Ellis QC View Profile
Tom Flavin photo Tom Flavin View Profile
Rudi Fortson QC photo Rudi Fortson QC View Profile
Sebastian Gardiner photo Sebastian Gardiner View Profile
Michael Gomulka photo Michael Gomulka View Profile
Courtenay Griffiths QC photo Courtenay Griffiths QC View Profile
Carolina Guiloff photo Carolina Guiloff View Profile
David Hooper QC photo David Hooper QC View Profile
Nicola Howard QC photo Nicola Howard QC View Profile
Paul Hynes QC photo Paul Hynes QC View Profile
Zeenat Islam photo Zeenat Islam View Profile
Alex Jamieson photo Alex Jamieson View Profile
Abimbola Johnson photo Abimbola Johnson View Profile
Duncan Jones photo Duncan Jones View Profile
Dermot Keating photo Dermot Keating View Profile
Paul Keleher QC photo Paul Keleher QC View Profile
Sushil Kumar photo Sushil Kumar View Profile
Paul Lazarus photo Paul Lazarus View Profile
Joy Lewis photo Joy Lewis View Profile
Natasha Lloyd-Owen photo Natasha Lloyd-Owen View Profile
Leon Lynch photo Leon Lynch View Profile
Bill Maley photo Bill Maley View Profile
Priya Malhotra photo Priya Malhotra View Profile
Paul Mendelle QC photo Paul Mendelle QC View Profile
Jonathan Mitchell photo Jonathan Mitchell View Profile
Nick Murphy photo Nick Murphy View Profile
Daniel Murray photo Daniel Murray View Profile
Michael Neofytou photo Michael Neofytou View Profile
Sheryl Nwosu photo Sheryl Nwosu View Profile
Osman Osman photo Osman Osman View Profile
Ms Beth O’Reilly photo Ms Beth O’Reilly View Profile
Geoffrey Payne photo Geoffrey Payne View Profile
Simon Pentol QC photo Simon Pentol QC View Profile
Arlette Piercy photo Arlette Piercy View Profile
Harry Potter photo Harry Potter View Profile
Laurie-Anne Power photo Laurie-Anne Power View Profile
Tom Price QC photo Tom Price QC View Profile
Matthew Radstone photo Matthew Radstone View Profile
Rebecca Randall photo Rebecca Randall View Profile
Samantha Riggs photo Samantha Riggs View Profile
Kerrie Ann Rowan photo Kerrie Ann Rowan View Profile
Nathaniel Rudolf photo Nathaniel Rudolf View Profile
Nigel Sangster QC photo Nigel Sangster QC View Profile
Robert Shaw photo Robert Shaw View Profile
Jo Sidhu QC photo Jo Sidhu QC View Profile
Vida Simpeh photo Vida Simpeh View Profile
Melanie Simpson photo Melanie Simpson View Profile
Tyrone Smith QC photo Tyrone Smith QC View Profile
Ben Smitten photo Ben Smitten View Profile
Mark Stevens photo Mark Stevens View Profile
Monica Stevenson photo Monica Stevenson View Profile
Emma Stuart Smith photo Emma Stuart Smith View Profile
Dominic Thomas photo Dominic Thomas View Profile
Helen Valley photo Helen Valley View Profile
Colin Wells photo Colin Wells View Profile
Lisa Wilson photo Lisa Wilson View Profile
David Wood photo David Wood View Profile

Languages

Farsi
French
German
Spanish
Portuguese
Italian
Hindi
Punjabi

Top Tier Set Rankings

Set Rankings