5 Paper Buildings is noted for having a ‘reputation for delivering a high quality service’ according to clients, with members appearing for the defence and prosecution in a range of very serious cases. In one of the highest-profile criminal cases of recent years, Deanna Heer KC prosecuted Axel Rudakubana for the murder of three primary school-age children in a Taylor Swift dance class in Southport; the defendant received a life term with a minimum of 52 years, the second-longest minimum term short of a whole-life tariff on a life sentence, notwithstanding that the defendant was seventeen at the time of the offence. Miranda Moore KC prosecuted a man who was charged with murder stemming from in incident for which he was already serving a sentence for GBH with intent, after a pedestrian who he had rammed with his car died, while Benjamin Douglas-Jones KC prosecuted a man who, as a struck-off paediatric surgeon, circumcised infants in unsanitary conditions and without anaesthesia.
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Profile
Work Department
General crime; health and safety; professional disciplinary.
Position
Appointed Senior Treasury Counsel in 2022, Deanna is a highly experienced criminal barrister who is regularly instructed in the most serious and high-profile cases. For over a decade she has specialised in the prosecution of homicide offences at the Central Criminal Court. In 2020 she was named The Times Lawyer of the Week following her successful prosecution of Jonty Bravery who threw a child from the viewing platform of the Tate Modern.
She frequently appears before the Court of Appeal in respect of appeals against conviction and sentence and advises the Attorney General on References to the Court of Appeal on questions of law and sentencing. In 2021, following a four-day appeal which involved questioning multiple experts she successfully persuaded the Court of Appeal to uphold the convictions in the case of the so-called ‘Freshwater Five’.
Deanna is also an acknowledged expert in health and safety law and has specialised in this area for many years, appearing in the leading case of R v Tangerine Confectionary in the Court of Appeal.
She is experienced in appearing at inquests, including those involving juries, and is currently instructed in the inquest into the death of Belly Mujinga who died during the Covid 19 pandemic.
She sits as a Recorder of the Crown Court.
Career
Called 1994, Gray’s Inn.
Recorder of the Crown Court 2009
Junior Treasury Counsel 2015
King’s Counsel 2022
Senior Treasury Counsel 2022
Memberships
Criminal Bar Association; Health and Safety Lawyers Association.
Education
LLB Hons.
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Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- '5 Paper Building is full of very able barristers, who have a reptuation for delivering a high quality service.'
- 'Strength throughout. Useful therefore for returns. Clerks very reliable and proactive.'
- 'The clerks will always go the extra mile to assist their instructing solicitors - always helpful and attentive.'
- 'A good criminal set with a talented mid-level.'
- 'Excellent chambers, very hardworking and personable clerks. '
- 'Strong throughout so helpful for returns.'
- 'My experience in dealing with this set of chambers has always been extremely positive - they have a very wide range of expertise and knowledge in all criminal matters. The clerks team is highly efficient and will always ensure the best counsel is available to cover any matters'
- 'Excellent set, very easy to deal with.'