ryan Cox is a specialist in Crime and Child Care law, who has been consistently highly commended in the legal directories as a leading silk in Crime and Regulatory Law.
In 2018 the The Legal 500 short listed him as Circuit Silk of the Year. Before taking Silk, he specialised in Crime, Regulatory law and Judicial Review, and since taking silk he has focussed on defending in high profile cases of homicide in the Crown Court, and representing parents in child care cases in the Family Court.
He has recently represented an intervenor, the Sheffield Children’s (NHS) Foundation Trust, in a major consolidated Fact Finding concerning allegations of FII in care proceedings, in which the High Court has given guidance in relation to FII cases and the application if the Royal College of Surgeons Guidance.
Since taking silk in 2006, many of his criminal and care cases have been those in which medical issues have been foremost, for example cases of child suffocation, strangulation and poisoning. He has wide experience of appearing in cases concerning ‘shaken baby syndrome’, and he is very familiar with the medical debate and relevant literature in that area, and he has extensive experience of cross-examining the leading experts in the applicable fields of neuropathology, paediatric neuropathology, ophthalmic pathology, histopathology and paediatric radiology. His expertise in medical cases places him in demand both in the Criminal and Child Care jurisdictions. In Care Proceedings he frequently represents parents in major fact finding and welfare hearings, especially those concerning allegations of head injury and, serious sexual abuse, and allegations of factitious or induced illness. He is experienced in dealing with clients who are vulnerable whether by reason of age or neuro-diversity, such as autism spectrum disorder. He is familiar with the learning in these areas.
Before taking silk, his practice included Crime, Judicial Review and Regulatory Crime. He was appointed to the Attorney General’s ‘A’ List, and he often prosecuted and defended in major high profile cases arising from fatalities in train derailment, chemical explosions, and industrial accidents. He often represented public bodies and major corporations in Health & Safety prosecutions and chemical spillages, and he was instructed on behalf of teaching staff in relation to fatalities in schools and during outdoor activities; he has appeared at a number of high-profile inquests such as the ‘Stainforth Beck’ inquest when 2 children died during school river walking activities. Before taking silk, he was very experienced in defending serious sexual allegations and he is very familiar with the issues that arise in such cases such as abuse of process, disclosure and public interest immunity.
He sits as a Recorder, and is authorised to try Crime, including serious sexual offences, and Civil Cases. He has an interest in Human Rights, and was recently instructed in the class action brought by 20,000 Kenyans against the Foreign and Colonial Office in respect of abuses committed by the security forces during the Kenyan Emergency during the 1950’s