Overview

Our Chambers has a strong and well established appellate and post conviction practice, advising and representing clients in appeals against conviction and sentence, as well as related post trial applications and proceedings. Members are regularly instructed both in cases they have conducted at trial and in matters where fresh counsel is required to provide independent, objective advice on the prospects of appeal.

We are experienced in identifying appealable issues arising from trial conduct, judicial directions, evidential rulings, disclosure failures and sentencing errors. Our barristers bring a detailed and analytical approach to reviewing transcripts, summings up, rulings and sentencing remarks, enabling them to pinpoint errors of law, procedure or approach that may render a conviction unsafe or a sentence excessive.

Chambers is frequently instructed at an early post conviction stage to advise on the merits of appeal, providing clear, practical and commercially realistic guidance to solicitors and clients. Written opinions are thorough, focused and strategically informed, allowing informed decisions to be made about further proceedings, including applications for leave to appeal, extensions of time, and the instruction of expert evidence where appropriate.

Our appellate practice is complemented by substantial experience in post conviction matters, including confiscation and POCA appeals, sentence reviews, and advice following adverse rulings during trial. Members are adept at engaging critically with complex legal and evidential issues beyond the courtroom, ensuring that cases are approached with clarity, precision and strategic judgment.

Solicitors value Chambers for its measured and realistic approach to appellate work, combining forensic legal analysis with an understanding of the practical realities facing clients following conviction. Whether advising quietly in the background or appearing in the Court of Appeal, our barristers provide authoritative, focused and effective representation in appellate and post conviction proceedings.

What This Area Covers

Our work in this area includes:

• Appeals against conviction, including challenges to the safety of the verdict
• Appeals against sentence, where a sentence is excessive or wrong in principle
• Applications to the Criminal Cases Review Commission
• Responding to Attorney General references on unduly lenient sentences
• Judicial review and case stated proceedings in the High Court
• Interlocutory appeals on the admissibility of evidence and bad character
• Appeals based on fresh evidence not available at trial
• Challenges to post conviction orders, including Sexual Harm Prevention Orders

Our Expertise

Our team includes barristers who have played a role in shaping the law through leading appellate decisions, including cases influencing sentencing practice and the interpretation of criminal legislation.

We are regularly instructed to take a fresh and independent view of historic convictions, identifying appealable issues such as judicial misdirection, wrongful admission of bad character evidence, or disclosure failures not previously identified.

We also have a strong record in sentencing appeals, successfully arguing for reduced custodial sentences and challenging findings of dangerousness or the imposition of indeterminate sentences.

From judicial review proceedings on bail and procedural fairness to appeals heard by the Supreme Court, our advocacy is careful, technically strong, and focused on achieving realistic and proportionate outcomes.