Thomas More Chambers

Areas of Practice:

• Family
• General Crime
• Courts Martial
• Direct Public Access

Experience:

Puneet has an extensive family and criminal law practice. Her accumulated experience and skills from specialising in both areas has frequently proved to be a significant advantage when acting for clients.

Family

Puneet has a busy family law practice, providing advice and representation in all aspects of matrimonial disputes and disputes following relationship breakdown, with a focus on Financial Remedy, Private Law Children, TLATA and Schedule 1 matters. She is able to advise, assist and provide representation at any stage of proceedings, including early neutral evaluations and non-court dispute resolution appointments. She accepts instructions for both financial and private law children proceedings for clients, appreciating the benefits of continuity of counsel in this respect. Puneet welcomes requests for initial advice.

Family Finance

Puneet is experienced in conducting financial remedy applications, regularly attending first appointments, FDRs, final hearings, as well as preliminary issue, MPS and enforcement hearings. Puneet often deals with matters involving significant factual disputes, including arguments of non-disclosure, add-back, interveners, non-matrimonial and inherited property, private businesses, shareholdings and complex company structures, pre-nuptial agreements, trusts, and pension arrangements.

Children Law (Private)

Puneet acts in children disputes (private law) for parents and other family members at all stages, from FHDRA to fact-finding hearings and final hearings. Puneet often acts in cases of considerable complexity, such as those concerning allegations of serious domestic abuse (including coercive and controlling behaviour), intractable contact disputes/ parental alienation, cultural issues, internal and external relocation and change of name disputes.

TLATA and Schedule 1

Puneet accepts instructions from clients pursuing or defending claims under TLATA and financial provision for children under Schedule 1. She has advised and acted for clients in, and is familiar with, the issues arising from crossover between the two areas.

Puneet is qualified to accept instructions on a direct public access basis.

General Crime and Courts Martial

Puneet is an experienced criminal junior, frequently instructed in cases involving a varied spectrum of offences, including organised crime (involving firearms and drugs), sexual offences, fraud, drugs, and matters involving serious violence. As well as her considerable experience in conducting trials as sole counsel, Puneet also acts as junior counsel in cases of serious and complex crime, including murder and manslaughter.

Puneet also has expertise in defending in the Courts Martial. Notable cases include the successful defence of a soldier charged with a £98k school fees fraud; of soldiers 1A and 1B, prosecuted for neglect of duty in respect of the deaths of three candidates during SAS selection in Wales; and of a soldier accused of multiple charges of violence against recruits at an Army training college, in the most significant SPA prosecution of recent years.

Inquests

Puneet has experience of the same and has acted for interested persons in deaths arising from incidents in military training.

Selected Cases:

R v. R - in 2021 junior counsel (led by Fiona Edington) in a continuity of education allowance fraud trial, reported in The Times, 21st June 2021

R v CN – in 2019 junior counsel in the successful defence of soldier charged with attempted murder. Appeal against conviction of alternative s.18 OAPA charge raised an interesting matter of law – see reported cases below

R v. Ciphers 1A and 1B – in 2018 junior counsel (led by Mathew Sherratt KC) in the successful defence of an officer and warrant officer, charged with neglect of duty, who invigilated a test march in the Brecon Beacons for a Special Military Unit during which three candidates died of heat illness in 2013

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-45557588

R v. B – in 2018 junior counsel (led by Nadim Bashir) acting for a Colonel charged with negligent performance of duty, in a trial following the accidental shooting of a soldier on the Castlemartin live firing range in 2012

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-44945232

R v. L – in 2018 junior counsel (led by Fiona Edington) in the successful defence of a Colonel charged with a £98m school fees fraud.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-wiltshire-46199060

R v. C – in 2018 successful defence of a warrant officer accused with fellow instructors of the serious ill-treatment of recruits at Harrogate Army Foundation College.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/03/19/judge-blasts-seriously-flawed-police-investigation-army-recruit/

Reported Cases:
• R v Cheeseman [2019] EWCA Crim 149
• R v Theophile [2015] 2 Cr. App. R. (S.) 68
• R v Miessan and Miessan [2013] EWCA Crim 733

French, German, Punjabi, Hindi, basic Russian

• Family Law Bar Association • Resolution • Criminal Bar Association • Association of Military Court Advocates • South-Eastern Circuit

• BPP Law School – Bar Vocational Course • BPP Law School – Postgraduate Diploma in Law • University of Oxford – The Queen’s College MA (Hons) (Oxon) • Lincoln’s Inn Cholmeley Scholarship • Lincoln’s Inn Sir Thomas More Scholarship • Lincoln’s Inn Hardwicke Scholarship