South Eastern Circuit
The 36 Group is increasingly establishing its reputation as a port of call for criminal matters, owing to its ‘superb range of barristers at all levels’. Mary Prior KC is noted as ’a top class advocate and turns her hand to anything with exceptional skill’, and is highly sought after for matters with a strong psychological component, and played a leading role in a case regarding a murder by an undiagnosed schizophrenic. Sally Hobson is ‘very strong on client care and extremely jury friendly either when prosecuting or defending’, and includes manslaughter, murder and thefts among her recent caseload. Diana Wilson is ’a concise and persuasive advocate who is able to cut straight to the heart of the matter’; she appeared in BDN v R, a Court of Appeal case concerning if the offence of expressing support for proscribed organisations (in this case, Hamas), is compliant with Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Mentions
Profile
Work Department
36 Crime
Position
Sally is a senior criminal practitioner with a practice consisting predominantly of complex criminal matters. She is sought-after due to her substantial experience of difficult and serious sexual offence cases involving both contemporary and historic allegations and is excellent in dealing with defendants and witnesses with mental health issues and other vulnerabilities. Although sensitive to the needs of the vulnerable, she has been described as ‘highly skilled’ in her cross-examination of witnesses.
Due to the serious nature of Sally’s practice she is instructed to appear at Court Centres throughout the country and has extensive experience of homicide, rape and serious sexual allegations, fraud and money laundering, and large scale drug conspiracies. Sally is frequently instructed in difficult cases due to her consultative approach and knowledge of expert witnesses. She is able to advise at an early stage of the proceedings as to the suitability of a particular expert.
In addition to her criminal practice, Sally appears at adjudications and parole hearings within the prison system. She is also able to advise at an early stage as to judicial review of a refusal to grant parole.
Career
Call: 1991.
Areas of experience:
Serious & Complex Crime
Consumer
Serious Sexual Offences
Homicide
Financial Crime
Coroners' Court
Languages
English
Memberships
Member of Inner Temple
Member of the South Eastern Circuit
Member of the Criminal Bar Association
Former Junior and current Committee Member of the Cambridge and Peterborough Bar Mess
Grade 4 CPS Prosecutor, Rape and Serious Sexual Offences panel advocate
Education
LLB (Hons)
LLM
Content supplied by The 36 Group
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'The clerks’ room operates with professionalism, efficiency, and a genuine commitment to client care.'
- 'The clerking is wonderful. They are attentive, helpful and pragmatic.'
- 'Clerks are incredibly responsive.'
- 'The clerks are amazing.'
- 'A well established and influential set.'
- 'The set as a whole is outstanding in this area. There is considerable strength-in-depth.'
- 'An excellent set.'
- 'The 36 Group has a superb range of barristers at all levels.'