Mary Monson Solicitors

Established in 1979, this firm advises clients facing criminal, fraud and regulatory investigations and prosecutions. The firm is renowned for its involvement in significant cases going back nearly half a century. The firm’s lawyers defended in the Strangeways Prison Riot case, the Manchester gang trials, and the Rotherham sex abuse scandal. They act in domestically and internationally reported criminal and fraud cases (see Main Areas of Practice). The defence of vulnerable clients is central to the organisation’s ethos. The culture is one of being proactive in litigation, especially early in the case, so that clients can avoid being charged or convicted. The firm’s values remain constant: a fighting attitude to defending the case, commitment to client care, and true expertise in the law.

IN THE MEDIA

Mary Monson Solicitors’ lawyers are go-to sources for expert comment on legal issues for the BBC, the FT, ITV, Channel 4 and LBC Radio. Director Joseph Kotrie-Monson is also the resident criminal lawyer on Discovery Plus' new true crime docu-series 'Inside the Heist'.

Criminal Defence
The firm represents individuals accused of serious criminal offences at the investigation stage, at trial and in the Court of Appeal. It regularly defends people charged with offences of serious violence, including murder, manslaughter and serious assault cases. It currently represents a main suspect in the Grenfell Fire manslaughter investigation. It defends alleged organised crime cases, often involving major drug importation, production and distribution cases, as well as low-level cases involving people with no previous convictions. The firm regularly defends conspiracy cases, often for people prosecuted simply because of they have had contact with other people in the case. Many clients of the firm have no experience of the criminal justice system, and are often professionals with a reputation and career to protect.

Sexual Allegations
Representation of individuals accused of sexual offences has been a specialisation of the organisation since early in its history and it is a national leader in the area. Mary Monson Solicitors defends serious allegations of rape and historical sexual allegations on an almost daily basis. The firm has also acted in highly sensitive cases involving alleged exploitation of vulnerable people for sexual purposes. Sexual allegations involving technical or computer crime are a specialisation of the firm, including indecent images and online/chat offences. The sensitivity and respect the firm strives to show its clients is a particularly important aspect of its work in this area.

Fraud and Business Crime
The firm has acted in some of the biggest and most controversial fraud and commercial crime cases worldwide in recent years. It represented the CEO of Cambridge Analytica in the US Elections/Facebook data hack case. It currently represents the former FD of Patisserie Valerie in the internationally reported false accounting case.

The firm won in the Unaoil bribery case against the UK’s Serious Fraud Office, its victory leading to a government review into disclosure failings and a decision not to renew the contract of the SFO’s director Lisa Osofsky.

Cyber Crime
The firm is a recognised specialist in cyber crime cases, often with an international element. See Cambridge Analytica/Facebook under Fraud and Business Crime (above). Director Joseph Kotrie-Monson is editor of the current edition of practitioner textbook Cyber Crime Law and Practice.

The firm regularly acts in cross-border cases where there is a UK element. See its successful defence in the US Department of Justice/UK Serious Fraud Office Unaoil bribery case, the largest corruption investigation in history. See also Cambridge Analytica - joint investigation by the FBI and the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office.

The firm advises in financial cases in linked jurisdictions, including British Overseas Territories.