https://www.square17chambers.com

Formerly a university law lecturer, with 20 years’ experience of legal research and teaching.

Instructions accepted to defend in criminal cases at any level.

Authorised by the BSB to conduct litigation.

Damian’s experience in the Crown Court includes cases of serious violence, drug cultivation and supply; weapons offences, public order offences, dishonesty offences (eg robbery, burglary, theft, fraud etc); sexual offences and indecent images cases. Damian has multiple times won jury trials for clients accused of these offences.

Appeals to the Crown Court from conviction and/or sentence in the Magistrates’ Court are regularly undertaken. Likewise, advice as to appealing to the Court of Appeal.

In the Magistrates’ Court, Damian frequently appears for clients in road traffic matters such as drink drive, drug drive, speeding, no insurance, careless driving, and s.172 notice offences. Special Reasons and Exceptional Hardship applications are undertaken where appropriate. Damian has had success in reducing the length of totting-up disqualifications even where no grounds to argue exceptional hardship existed.

In professional discipline, advice and representation is offered to those appearing before misconduct panels, including but (not limited to) panels convened to hear allegations of misconduct by police officers or teachers.

Area of Law

What sort of work do I do?

Representation at courts of any level, and, where required, the drafting of documents is offered. Unlike most direct-access counsel, Damian is authorised to conduct litigation and is therefore permitted to correspond with the court and the opposing party on behalf of a client should that need arise.

Advice on, and the drafting of appeals to the Crown Court, or applications for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal, or to the High Court for permission to seek judicial review are all offered.

Instructions to oppose police applications for a Sexual Risk Order are accepted, and Damian has successfully opposed such applications even where the sexual act complained about by the police is admitted. In cases where the the necessity for an SRO to be imposed is conceded, Damian has succeeded in limiting the terms of the Order and its duration - in one case to 2 years when the police had sought to have the Order made for 10 years.

Who do I work for?

Anyone in need of representation in a criminal court, irrespective of the offence alleged, and with no judgments made about what led to the need to seek advice or make a court appearance.

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