He specialises in defending matters of serious violence and as such has been instructed in double assassination style murder case, together with numerous allegations of shooting, stabbing, torture and attempted murder. 

He has extensive experience in defending complex criminal conspiracies – having been involved, often for the first defendant, in numerous complex and weighty conspiracies, often involving allegations of gang activity. 

He is experienced in white collar fraud, having undergone a secondment with the Serious Fraud Office and having undertaken a complex privilege review for a city firm on behalf of a major bank. 

Since having undergone a secondment at the NMC in 2010 and having subsequently lectured different regulators on a number of diverse of law and strategy, he has developed a thriving professional discipline practice including defending clinical professionals before fitness to practice hearings or at inquests. 

Homicide

R v. Ezeoke
A case tried on an unprecedented five occasions before a jury was able to agree verdicts. The case concerned a double, assassination style murder carried out in the early hours of the morning in a family home in East Finchley. Led by Henry Grunwald QC at for the first trial, which collapsed, then by James Scobie QC at each of the subsequent four trials. The first trial collapsed at the close of the prosecution case due to judicial ill-health, the second and third trials resulted in hung juries. The jury were sent into retirement in the fourth trial, deliberating for 3 ½ days before collapsing further to the COVID-19 lockdown.

R v Vasile & others
Led by Kieran Vaughan QC in 5 handed murder trial following the beating to death with pickaxe handles of a man described in The Sun as a ‘Crime Lord’.

R v Brazant
Acted alone at trial for attempted murder, flowing from an unprovoked attack upon a young mother pushing her 2 year old child home in a buggy in the hours of darkness. The defendant, a paranoid schizophrenic, handed himself in to a police station in the days following the attack, admitting to having stabbed a woman and handing in three kitchen knives.

R v Pearson
A case flowing from the stabbing to death of a drug dealer, said to have ‘cuckooed’ the flat of one of the defendants. It was alleged that she enlisted a boyfriend and accomplices, further to failing to persuade the deceased to leave her flat. The case was followed in the BBC documentary series ‘Murder 24/7’ (https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m000frh9/murder-247)

R v Hajila & Others
Allegations of double attempted murder, in which one victim was stabbed 33 times within his home and repeatedly struck with cognac bottles, whilst another was stabbed 8 times and bottled.

R v Cassar
Death by careless driving case flowing from an articulated lorry colliding with a cyclist on a dual carriageway in the hours of darkness.

R v Atkins
Death by careless driving case in which an operative was crushed behind a refuse lorry.

R v Udris
Death by dangerous driving case in which a bus collided with a pedestrian after failing to stop at red traffic signals.

Criminal Conspiracies

R v. Laidlaw
First on the indictment in 8 handed conspiracy to burgle case, with further substantive counts of aggravated burglary, cash-in-transit robbery and violent robberies.

R v. Johnstone & Others
8 handed conspiracy to burgle, involving around 30 burglaries and thefts of high value motor vehicles. There were allegations of serious violence been used towards home-owners during the course of the burglaries, including an assault with crowbars. The total amounts stolen were alleged to have totalled in excess of a million pounds.

R v. Ogu
Conspiracy to supply firearm – a case turning on the combination of surveillance evidence and technical evidence around telephone communications, download material, cell site analysis and ANPR

Serious Violence

R v. Adesoji
Conspiracy to commit GBH with intent. Originally indicted as attempted murder. A series of allegedly connected stabbings, culminating with a car being driven at young men running down a back street in Brixton, before knocking an unrelated man from his bicycle. At this point, the front seat passenger decamped and stabbed the man knocked from his bicycle, severing his femoral artery.

R v. King
Violent disorder in which the defendant had been initially arrested for attempted murder. The charges stemmed from a particularly violent group attack in which various parties were attacked with a variety of weapons, said to include machetes, golf clubs and a scythe. Two complainants received blows to the head from machetes of sufficient force to leave skull fractures.

R v. Ogu
Originally charged with attempted murder. Downgraded on indictment to S18 wounding, possession of firearms with intent to cause fear of violence and possession for class A drugs with intent to supply. Successfully severed drugs count from S18 and firearms counts, before leading the Crown to offer no evidence on the PWITS indictment and securing acquittals after trial on the S18 and firearms charges.

Kidnapping

R v. Santiago
Defended allegation of assault by penetration, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment and threats to kill. Allegation that the defendant kidnapped a former partner and her young daughter before imprisoning her for a number of hours, tying her up, threatening torture and perpetrating serious sexual assaults. The Defendant was a man with an extensive and violent antecedent history and freely admitted having serious mental health issues. Acquitted of all counts.

R v. Millard & Others
Allegations of the kidnapping of a young man at knife-point from a caravan. He was then allegedly made to sit in a car, in which he was repeatedly beaten and stabbed by 5 others, before being thrown into the road in the middle of a country lane and there further beaten, culminating in the breaking of his leg with an iron bar. Most of the accused were children at the time of the alleged offence.

R v Navesey
Acted for a man accused of the kidnap of his former partner, together with allegations of seriously assaulting her and of subjecting her to coercive control over a period of months. At the time of the kidnap, the Defendant was in a state of considerable emotional turmoil, later telling the police that he had intended to kill himself after having achieved closure with the complainant.

R v. Challis
S18 wounding and kidnapping allegation, together with a co- Defendant accused of conducting a course witness intimidation. The complainant was allegedly beaten, soaked in a shower, forced into a car and driven off against his will.

R v. Selivanovs
Allegation of unlawful imprisonment and infliction of grievous bodily harm. The complainant and three co-accused, each alcoholic and street homeless, were alleged to have imprisoned the complainant, similarly alcoholic and homeless, in a squat, and there seriously assaulted him over an extended period. 

Drugs

R v. Brown
Allegation of ‘rip-in’ importation of around 10kg of cannabis. Acquitted in spite of the admission of two previous similar convictions.

R v. Neo
Allegation of ‘rip-in’ importation of around 3kg of cocaine. Acquitted.

R v. Walters
Successfully defended an allegation stemming from the importation of around 1kg of cocaine, delivered by way of package sent to a Parcelforce depot. The Defendant had, upon arrest, repeatedly shouted ‘no comment’ to his co- Defendant. His co-Defendant, who had fought with arresting officers and apparently tried to wipe her mobile phone memory, had further refused to give the PIN code to her phone. Both were acquitted.

Robbery

R v. Velyn
Gunpoint robbery of a financial delivery. Negotiated a deal to turn Queen’s Evidence. Defendant received a 27 month sentence of imprisonment, whilst co-Defendant was sentenced to 12 years.

R v. Nacius
Gunpoint robbery of a bar. The case was of particular interest in that the bar in question had been the subject of some four armed robberies, tragically culminating in the murder of one of the members of staff.

R v Criscuolo & Others
An allegation that 3 men, armed with knives, burst into the address demanding to be given the drugs and money and identifying one of those present as a known drug dealer. All of the complainants denied any involvement in drug dealing. It was alleged that a door was kicked off its hinges, with a hole being made in the door, that the property was ransacked with food and property being scattered about the floor. The three were captured on CCTV shortly after the incident using credit cards belonging to the complainants in a convenience store. All three defendants were acquitted.

R v. Tucker
Aggravated burglary. Allegation of the knife-point burglary of a hotel room in which both complainants were assaulted and injured with the knife. 

R v. Jones
Successfully defended a prosecution by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills for alleged failures to notify a creditor of a decision to strike a company off.

R v. Webb
4 week trial prosecuted by BIS for failure to comply with a number of requirements placed on directors in insolvency.

R. v Ailey
Assisted Henry Grunwald QC OBE throughout two and a half month, four-handed international boiler room fraud trial. 

Shoker
Regulatory charges against a hospital’s Director of Nursing in the aftermath of the death by overdose of a consultant anesthetist within the hospital. Although wide ranging, the gravamen of the charges turned on the Registrant’s alleged failure to ensure that controlled drug processes within the hospital were safe. The case involved a large volume of disclosure and necessitated the assimilation of large amounts of material pertaining to hospital processes, chains of responsibility and corporate structures. Finding of no impairment.

Mann
Dentist facing regulatory proceedings following a conviction for causing death by careless driving.

Funk
Dentist alleged to have made off with payments from a patient, having extracted a number of teeth and having failed to undertake the reconstructive implant surgery promised, together with having allegedly taken payments to a personal card machine when they should have been made to the surgery employing him.

Ramsammy-Westmaas
5 week case involving wide ranging allegations including allegation of dishonesty against clinical lead and deputy head teacher at a school for children with profound physical and mental impairments.

Gent
Case running for several weeks, involving a care home manager and former CQC inspector facing wide ranging allegations of neglect, elder abuse and poor treatment of relatives. Case marked by the challenging nature of the complainant family, who had brought similar complaints about the registrant to around twenty separate organisations.

K (a nurse)
Health case involving background of alcohol misuse and severe depression, including episodes of overdose. The Registrant had taken considerable amounts of sickness absence, against a background of both domestic abuse and bullying in the workplace. Not found impaired.

R. Mather
Allegations of dishonesty around the lack treatment of a pressure ulcer on the stump of an amputee. Various further allegations relating to the poor episode of care, shortly after qualification. Dishonesty found not proved, no impairment found.

Pamposa
The Registrant had repeatedly failed to declare having a recent diagnosis of tuberculosis together with current undiagnosed lung infection upon applying for work as a nurse within a prison. The registrant had admitted not having disclosed this due to a fear that, in doing so he would not have been offered the job. Avoided findings of dishonesty and of impairment.

Sohal
Appeal against refusal to readmit accountant further to disqualification as a director. The ICAEW ultimately conceded that the panel at first instance had made material errors of fact in such a way as distorted the proceedings against the appellant and deprived him of the opportunity properly to present his case or to evidence the process of remediation that he had undergone or his level of insight.

Knowles
A nurse having been referred to the NMC following the tragic death of a young lady from sepsis. The registrant had seen the deceased in an outpatients clinic, had failed to recognise the symptoms of sepsis and had directed her to a GP's surgery rather than as an urgent referral to A&E. It became clear in the substantive hearing that there had been institutional failings across multiple NHS service providers and that the registrant's failings did not amount to misconduct.

Zyla
A social worker facing misconduct proceedings before the HCPC in connection with an allegation of an improper relationship with a service user. It became clear during the course of proceedings that the registrant had in fact been the victim of serious psychological, physical and financial abuse at the hands of the service user, who, as well as having been in a position of some vulnerability, was also deeply entrenched within serious criminality.