5 St Andrews Hill

Claire practices in all areas of crime, with a particular focus on fraud. She has significant experience of large, multi-handed and complex cases, whilst maintaining her expertise in serious sex and drugs cases.

Claire practices in all areas of crime. She has significant experience of large, multi-handed and complex fraud cases and has proven expertise in serious sex, violence and drugs cases.

Claire has been highly praised for her trial advocacy, particularly in cases involving young and vulnerable witnesses where she has shown herself to be an empathetic and skilful cross-examiner.

General Crime

Claire has extensive experience of defending and prosecuting rape and serious sexual offences and has a commendable acquittal rate in defending such cases.  She has dealt with many cases involving historical sexual abuse and a number involving intermediaries.

Claire is frequently instructed in complex multi-handed cases involving firearms, is a Grade 3 prosecutor and has been instructed as Specialist Disclosure Counsel in large cases including a cold case murder.

Business Crime

Claire is meticulous and highly detailed in her case preparation and has a unique ability to absorb, dissect and simplify complex fraud structures.  This, combined with her extensive experience, makes her a highly skilled counsel in this specialism.

She has acted in several multi-handed fraud cases including a 12-defendant conspiracy to steal/convert criminal proceeds, and recently as counsel in a multi-defendant case involving large mortgage frauds committed over a substantial period of time.  She has also acted on cases involving the fraudulent submission of VAT repayments in excess of £1.5m, car-ringing and the removal of criminal proceeds from the jurisdiction.

Her secondment to a private prosecution law firm as in-house Counsel specialising in “Fraud: white collar-crime” saw her make a significant contribution to a complex Proceeds of Crime Act case worth in excess of £23m, involving a defendant in a foreign jurisdiction.

Claire has significant experience of private prosecutions and is regularly instructed in private prosecution work. She is able to advise on all aspects of this area of law.

Claire was called to the Bar in 2002. Prior to joining the Bar as a practicing barrister, Claire worked for a number of years at the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office with a strong emphasis on multi-handed MTIC frauds.

Criminal Defence

Claire practices in all areas of crime. She has significant experience of large, multi-handed and complex fraud cases and has proven expertise in serious sex, violence and drugs cases.

Claire has considerable experience of defending in rape and serious sexual offences and has a commendable acquittal rate when conducting such cases.  She has dealt with many cases involving historical sexual abuse and a number involving intermediaries.

Claire is frequently instructed in complex multi-handed cases involving firearms.

She has been highly praised for her trial advocacy, particularly in cases involving young and vulnerable witnesses where she has shown herself to be an empathetic and skilful cross-examiner.

Business Crime & Financial Regulation

Claire has significant experience in Business Crime cases. She is meticulous and highly detailed in her case preparation and has a unique ability to absorb, dissect and simplify complex fraud structures.

Claire is also instructed by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and frequently defends those charged with benefit and/or mortgage fraud.  Please refer to the overview section of her profile above for further detail.

Criminal Prosecutions - Private & Public

Claire has been taking private prosecution instructions for a number of years. She regularly undertakes private prosecution work and is able to advise on all aspects of this area of law.

She is a Grade 3 prosecutor and has been instructed as Specialist Disclosure Counsel in large cases, including a cold case murder. Her remit includes the full spectrum of criminal cases, including serious violence, drugs, fraud and serious sexual offences.

Claire has considerable experience of difficult serious sexual offences prosecutions, having prosecuted numerous rapes and cases concerning the sexual abuse of children. She has dealt with many cases in this challenging area involving historical sexual abuse and a number involving intermediaries.  She has also acted as led junior counsel in a serious sexual case concerning the abuse of a mentally handicapped complainant.

Claire has been commended for her trial advocacy, particularly in cases involving young and vulnerable witnesses, where she has shown herself to be an empathetic and skilful cross-examiner.

Criminal Bar Association