Our Team
Our large and dedicated team of criminal practitioners includes barristers of all levels of seniority, who are equally adept at both prosecuting and defending the whole spectrum of criminal offences. This enables us to provide barristers with the experience and expertise that is appropriate to each individual case. The Zenith Crime Team benefits from the leadership of some very gifted and experienced practitioners, including three Queen's Counsel; they are strongly supported by a large number of successful and hard working junior members from a wide range of call.
Members of the team are known, both regionally and nationally, for the breadth and depth of their experience and for their careful, considered and sensitive approach. Several members of the team are recommended by the guides to the legal profession as leaders in the field of criminal law. The legal expertise of several members is recognised by their appointment as Recorders of the Crown Court.
Our Expertise
The expertise of our criminal practice group ranges from the most serious, complex and high-profile criminal cases, through to criminal matters dealt with in the Magistrates' Courts.
Our criminal expertise encompasses the following areas of criminal law:
- Murder, manslaughter and other violent crime
- Sexual offences
- Drugs offences
- Money laundering
- Major fraud
- Human trafficking /Immigration Act offences
- Proceeds of Crime Act confiscation proceedings
- Benefit fraud
- Health and safety offences
- Offensive weapons
- Dangerous driving offences
- Public order offences
- Prison law and Parole Board hearings
- Regulatory offences
- Trading Standards
- Judicial Review
- Intellectual property crime
Members of the crime team have a reputation for being client focussed and approachable. The team follow a strict protocol to ensure a high level of client care for both Defence Solicitors and Defendants throughout the duration of a case.
Members of the Crime Team have experience of representing those accused of criminal offences at all levels, from early stage hearings before the Magistrates' Courts to proceedings before the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. In addition, members of the team routinely provide both advice and representation to the Crown Prosecution Service, from the very earliest stages of police investigations, through to proceedings before the Court of Appeal.
Members of the Crime Team also have experience of representing those accused of professional misconduct, such as nurses and police officers, who are brought before the appropriate disciplinary tribunal.
Chambers undertakes criminal work for a number of local authorities across the Yorkshire region in relation to a range of matters, including benefit fraud and Education Act cases. We also receive instructions from government agencies such as the Food Standards Agency; the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA); the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office (RCPO); the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and the National Probation Service.
In addition to the main practice group, we have a specialist Court Martial group, whose members provide high quality advice and representation in this specialist area.
