MSB Solicitors

Crime and Regulatory

Senior Partner

Sean Sexton founded MSB 30 years ago and heads the Crime and Regulatory department.

He leads a team of talented lawyers, the majority of whom trained under him and have spent their whole careers with MSB.

Sean has over 35 years experience in all facets of criminal and regulatory law.

He was educated by the Jesuits at St Francis Xavier’s College. He then studied Law at Durham University before returning to his native Liverpool where he qualified as a Solicitor in 1984. His interest in civil liberties work led to him joining the Law Society Mental Health Panel between 1984 and 1996 and being appointed a Police Station Duty Solicitor in 1986.

Sean set up in practice on his own account in 1989 at the age of 29 and the firm which he founded is now a full service law firm, almost 150 strong.

Sean achieved national prominence as a solicitor when he discovered a loophole in drink driving legislation. The Judgement of the Divisional Court in D.P.P –v- Corcoran led to thousands of appeals in cases going back over a 25 year period. It was estimated that up to 250,000 wrongful convictions might have occurred and hundreds of appeals against conviction were allowed out of time before the House of Lords somewhat pragmatically overturned the Divisional Court Judgement in June 1994 . The Lord Chancellor who was a serving Cabinet minister at the time personally sat on the case and the judgment has a strong public policy flavour.

Sean can therefore lay claim to being the original “loophole lawyer” as he was given that soubriquet at that time by a number of national newspapers.

Sean was instructed by the parents of James Bulger in February 1993, eight days after James’ abduction and murder by two ten year old boys in a case which attracted worldwide media attention.  

He dealt with the media on behalf of James’ parents until June 1994, was instrumental in setting up the James Bulger Memorial Trust and from June 1994 to date has represented James’ mother, Denise, throughout the numerous appeals and Parole Board hearings on a pro bono basis. In consequence, he is one of the few Solicitors who have personally addressed the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg as an advocate.

He has represented numerous clients in high profile cases subsequently but succeeds in   keeping himself and his clients out of the limelight.

Sean has defended in some of the most complex fraud cases in recent years including the largest ever pharmaceutical fraud prosecuted in the EU (Operation Singapore). The client was acquitted after a 5 month trial in Croydon Crown Court.

Sean recently represented a professional man in an alleged £324 million conspiracy to cheat the Revenue. The case involved alleged breaches of the DOTAS (Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes) regulations in the design, operation and selling of high risk investment schemes in films, pharmaceutical research and computer games to high net worth individuals.

All charges were dismissed following a successful legal argument and Sean has now recovered in excess of £750,000 in respect of the client’s costs of defending himself over a six year period.

Sean is a qualified Solicitor-Advocate (Higher Courts Criminal Proceedings) and a Supervisor on the Specialist Fraud Panel.

In September 2013, Sean was recognised as one of the top 50 Irish lawyers practising in Britain by the Irish Post.

Solicitor-Advocate (Higher Courts Criminal Proceedings) Supervisor on the Specialist Fraud Panel.

St Francis Xavier's College, Liverpool 1970-1977

Durham University B.A. (Hons) in Law 1977-1980

College of Law, Christleton Solicitors' Final Examinations 1980-1981