“Sarah is a joy to instruct as she is great with clients, fastidious in her preparation of all matters, and responsive. She is authoritative without a hint of arrogance, extremely well-prepared for any eventuality, and clearly enjoys advocacy” - Legal 500, 2025
Sarah appears in the most serious cases including terrorism, murder and complex fatalities. Sarah appears regularly in Courts Martial and the civilian courts. She transferred to the Bar in 2016 having been a popular solicitor with higher rights and an existing busy practice.
Sarah has particular expertise in technical cases involving large-scale organised crime and criminal cases involving issues of capacity, abuse of trust, Wills and property. She also receives specialist instructions in regulatory matters and electoral cases involving attempts to compromise elections, brought by the counter terror division.
Instructed in regulatory cases including health and safety, and licensing matters including firearms and license appeals brought by commercial animal breeders, Sarah acts for and against licensing and prosecutorial authorities and on behalf of insured and private parties. Sarah acts in cases in Wales and England and is conversant with devolved Welsh licensing legislation.
Described as “knowledgeable, warm but assertive when needed” with clients and “articulate and fearless” in court, she impresses “with her command of detail and with her obviously high level of skill at deciding the really important points to go at. She is also clearly someone who knows what is right and is prepared to stand her ground.”
Panels and Memberships
Serious Crime – level 4
General Crime – level 4
Counter Terror – level 3
Regulatory Board (The Health and Safety Executive, Coal Board, Environment Agency, Office of Rail and Road, National Resources Wales, Care Quality Commission and the Office for Product Safety and Standards).
Association of Military Court Advocates
Criminal Bar Association
Health and Safety Lawyers’ Association
Northern Circuit
Middle Temple
Cases of Note - Crime
R v AM [2024] – Preston Crown Court; s.3 Explosive Substances Act 1883. Prosecution junior. Defendant had viable improvised explosive device (nail bomb) improvised explosive device disguised as a firearm (pipe-type bomb), imitation firearm and knife.
R v Wilkinson [2024] – Preston Crown Court; Murder. Defence junior. Defendant murdered, disembowelled and decapitated his neighbour and then distributed his remains throughout a large geographical area.
Operation Brick [2024] – Burnley Crown Court; conspiracy to supply cocaine. Prosecuted alone; six defendants had engaged in a professional ‘deliveroo’ type cocaine dealing throughout Lancashire for just under one year. All convicted.
R v A [2024] – Preston Crown Court; arson with intent to endanger life. Defended lay-client alleged to have been involved in a fire attack on a terraced domestic premises while a person was inside the house. The crown offered no evidence following cross-examination of the complainant on identification. Defendant acquitted before half-time and released from custody immediately.
R v A, P and B [2024] – Manchester Crown Court; represented defendant accused of firearms possession; question of antiquity. Advanced two limbs of legal argument denying possession and raising antiquity; crown offered no evidence.
R v HR [2023] – Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court; trial for death by dangerous driving. Defended alone one of two defendants prosecuted for causing the death of a 16 year old pedestrian, a school girl walking to college. The case post-dated the amendment to the maximum sentence for this offence to life.
Operations Quebec and Quebec 2 [2023] – Preston Crown Court; junior alone in the prosecution of multi-handed Operation Quebec and then led junior in the larger more expansive Operation Quebec 2. The prosecutions involved conspiracy to supply class A from Liverpool to Blackpool and elsewhere. All defendants in Operation Quebec were convicted and out of 28 defendants in Operation Quebec 2, 25 were convicted.
Operation Valetta [2023] – Burnley Crown Court; prosecuted series of exposure attacks involving a predatory male targeting female care home staff at night over nine months. Convicted on all counts.
R v BX [2023] – Preston Crown Court; defendant prosecuted for possession of imitation firearm used to threaten; guilty plea entered on a basis that enabled him to avoid an immediate prison sentence and keep his business.
Operation Marley [2023] – Preston Crown Court; defendant prosecuted for possession of multiple firearms and relevant ammunition with intent to endanger life. Not guilty verdicts recorded and defendant convicted of lesser offence whereby liberty was retained.
R v D [2023] – Preston Crown Court; defended medical professional accused of rape and violent attacks against three separate female complainants. After advancing legal argument the Crown abandoned one complainant and continued to trial in respect of the remaining two. Acquitted of every allegation made by the three women.
R v J [2023] – Manchester Crown Court at Minshull Street – rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and ABH. Marital allegations against spouse. Acquitted of rape and s.47 ABH, hung jury on coercive and controlling behaviour; no retrial.
Operation Adelite [2021] – Manchester Crown Court; Defence junior in ten-handed conspiracy to murder trial involving drill lyrics. Adduced voluminous defence evidence including music. Relied upon expert in drill. Jury acquitted client of conspiracy to murder, convicted instead of conspiracy to cause GBH.
Manchester Arena bombing; Operation Mantaline [2019] – Manchester Crown Court - prosecuted five terror suspects including one in absence for conspiracy to supply class A, offences discovered during the investigation of the arena bombing during the Ariana Grande concert. Later reported within the Inquiry proceedings.
R v GH [2017] – Carlisle Crown Court; causing serious injury by dangerous driving. Prosecuted HGV driver who did not pay attention to any overhead warning signs and drove into queue of stationary traffic, causing lifelong disabilities and life-limiting injures to several people.
R v Hamilton [2016] EWCA Crim 78; Conveying articles into prison (cocaine) – this case is the authority for how to sentence conveyance of drugs into prison. Successfully reduced Ms Hamilton’s sentence by half.
Courts Martial and Military
R v Major A [2024] – Catterick; multi-count indictment including assault. Adduced sensitive evidence from very senior military officers to achieve satisfactory outcome for officer (loss of seniority).
R v WO1 [2023] B – Catterick; multi-count indictment including assaults and public order act offences. Client received extremely favourable outcome with plea accepted to lesser alternative offence. Reduced by one rank.
Sarah accepts instructions in respect of Service Complaints, AGAI 67 proceedings, inquests and inquiries, including sensitive matters.
Co-author of Forces Legal Resources, Sarah has written a body of articles kept online to assist members of HM Forces navigating the Service Justice System with colleague Matthew Bolt. Forces Legal Resources can be found at www.boltandmagill.com
Regulatory, Inquests, Inquiries and Licensing
Part of the junior team instructed on the Covid Inquiry for the Health and Safety Executive.
Instructed off-panel by HMG in a particularly sensitive inquiry involving international reciprocal agreements.
Inquest touching on the death of a prisoner; Stafford, represented the family in a death in custody case where the cause of death was the consumption of novel psychoactive substances (‘spice’).
Animal Protection Society v M. et al [2022] – Preston Crown Court; Advanced detailed legal argument that had the effect of terminating the prosecution. The case was the beginning of the demise of both the charity and the solicitors’ firm, the prosecution were robustly criticised and the case received widespread media attention together with the cases that followed it.
Cumberland County Council v BN [2024] – Carlisle Crown Court – represented director prosecuted for offences parasitic to an insolvent company. Put forward legal argument. Dishonesty offences withdrawn, director pleaded guilty to remainder, received a fine.
Sarah is selected to act in cases involving commercial animal breeders challenging local authority decisions in respect of licensing.
Firearms Licensing; Sarah appears both for police forces and private clients in licensing appeals.
Call to the bar: 2016