Serena Gates > Red Lion Chambers > London, England > Barrister Profile

Serena Gates

020 7520 6000 chambers@18rlc.co.uk View profile

Position

Serena Gates was appointed as a Treasury Counsel Monitoree in September 2021 and was ranked in the Legal 500 directory, in 2020 and 2021 under fraud and general crime respectively.

Serena is a skilled and respected advocate with a sharp mind and broad range of both national and international experience. Her criminal practice, both prosecuting and defending, focuses on Terrorism, Murder & Manslaughter, Serious & Organised Crime, Fraud and serious Sexual Offences. She is also frequently instructed in regulatory cases, particularly those relating to proceedings brought on behalf of the GDC.

Serena also has extensive experience advising, training and mentoring prosecutors in foreign jurisdictions in the prosecution of terrorism offences. She is also well versed in investigating, documenting and analysing evidence relating to war crimes and human rights abuses by both terrorist organisation and Government forces and their affiliates.

Serena is a Grade 4 advocate on the General CPS panel and a Grade 4 on the specialist panels for Counter Terrorism, Fraud, Organised Crime, Rape and Serious Sexual Offences. She has also been instructed in numerous Courts Martial.

Serena has particular experience in a number of specialist areas including:

legal arguments in terrorism cases including on closed proceedings;

legal arguments on abuse of process, autrefois convict, PII, bad character, human rights and interpretation of human trafficking provisions.

advising on unduly lenient sentences in her capacity as a Treasury Counsel Monitoree;

dealing with intermediaries for young and vulnerable witnesses.

advising on drafting of letters of requests from foreign jurisdictions and utilising evidence obtained pursuant to such LORs,forensic and expert evidence including cell site analysis and call data, handwriting analysis, blood distribution and splatter evidence, expert psychiatric evidence, footwear tread pattern and ballistics.

significant experience of international and cross border money laundering networks including the use of the hawala and international third-party payment systems.

admissibility of cell site and secure phone data including EncroChat used by organised crime syndicates; and extensive knowledge of firearms related issues.

Career

Year of Call:2001

Treasury Counsel Monitoree (Appointed September 2021)

CPS Panel Advocate (General Crime) (Grade 4)

CPS Specialist Panel Advocate (Fraud, Counter Terrorism Panel) (Grade 4)

Member of International Advisory Committee for Legal Action Worldwide

Senior Civilian Expert for UK HMG Stabilisation Unit (a cross-Whitehall unit providing specialist advice to HMG departments including FCO, NCA, HO and others)

Languages

Spanish

Memberships

Criminal Bar Association

South Eastern Circuit

Middle Temple

Women in Criminal Law

Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers

Education

MA, University of Cambridge