The 36 Group is ‘an excellent set, with members frequently appearing in the most heavyweight and complex criminal cases’. Mary Prior KC, who is praised for ’combines an outstanding intellect with an extraordinary capacity for hard work’, recently defended a woman accused of suffocating her terminally ill father while in a state of stress and intoxication. Sally Hobson acted for a defendant in a murder trial concerning the fatal assault of a friend, which allegedly involved striking the victim with a bottle and forcing a sock down his throat.
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.
- 'Michelle Simpson leads an extraordinarily professional clerks' room that reaches across the country, covering almost every circuit.'
- 'Michelle Simpson and Daisy Parsons are particular stars of the clerking team. Both are proactive problem solvers who will go far.'
- 'Michelle Simpson is always friendly and approachable and keen to work around tricky listing issues.'
- 'Elliot Styles and Daisy Parsons are particular stars of the clerking team.'
- 'The 36 group is a very strong set with good depth of counsel.'
- 'The 36 group is an excellent set.'
- 'The 36 group is a go-to set for excellence in advocacy by talented and passionate advocates.'
- 'The 36 group is a strong set with quality, reliable barristers at every level, both prosecution and defence.'