Tim Forte has a well-established practice in large, complex and serious crime specialising in heavyweight violence, fraud, drugs, terrorism and firearms offending.
Notably, he has been instructed in murder trials relating to three on-duty police officers. He has also been instructed in three prosecutions in relation to the “domestic use in the UK” of grenades, of which there have only been a handful.
His computer and technological expertise means he is particularly sought after in cases involving EncroChat, telecoms and computer evidence, including probe and telephone intercept evidence and substantial telecoms data re pattern, attribution and cell site. In an article on the EncroChat system, he correctly predicted the breach and implant by French law enforcement days before the news broke.
He has been instructed in more than 50 Encro proceedings, including two major Operation Venetic Preparatory Hearings: Operation Estevan (Manchester) and Operation Oberon (Cardiff). He can be relied upon to manage and master voluminous and complex material at pace. By the start of 2021, he had successfully secured the acquittal of two defendants in Encro cases (one in Snaresbrook for Deepak Vij at ABV Solicitors and one in Ipswich for Darren Flight at Harris Cuffaro Nicholls).
He has built a strong reputation with a wide spectrum of professional clients, mainly as a leader, but also as a junior (alone or led). He is respected as a fighter with very sound judgment, who can be relied upon to take the initiative in the case and to carry the fight to the prosecution.
He has conducted numerous complex legal submissions, often taking the lead in and succeeding in arguments overlooked by others. As an experienced appellate advocate, he is often singled out to take over complex and substantial proceedings on appeal.
As a fluent German speaker and with contacts in the German legal world, he has always had a keen interest in the international aspect of crime. In May 2018, he was one of a handful of English barrister delegates at the IBA Transnational Crime Conference in Krakow, and has contributed to an article on the IBA website about the current state of legal professional privilege.
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Gray's Inn Amnesty International Bar Pro Bono panel of advocates Criminal Bar Association Justice Liberty International Bar Association Public Access South Eastern Circuit Committee Public Access
Call October 1994 BA Pupil Supervisor
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