Crime

25 Bedford Row

25 Bedford Row is ‘consistently one of the best criminal sets in London and fields an impressive array of seasoned and new advocates’ that are regularly involved in the most high-profile cases. Tyrone Smith KC and Daniel Murray recently defended one of the individuals charged with the abduction, torture and murder of well-known Turkish DJ, Koray Alpergin, who was allegedly in Tottenham alongside his girlfriend over a debt. Paul Hynes KC has a stellar reputation for handling complex cases – he recently represented notorious Islamist activist Anjem Choudary in relation to allegations concerning his leadership in Al-Muhajiroun, a proscribed organisation. Laurie-Anne Power KC has considerable experience in murder trials, including gang-related murder trials. John Cooper KC’s heavyweight practice sees him defend in major murder, drug trafficking, terrorism, and sexual offences cases – in November 2023 he defended a man charged with the murder of 19-year-old Ashley Dale, shot and killed in her home in Liverpool as a result of a gangland feud involving her boyfriend. The defendant was ultimately acquitted of all charges; four other defendants were convicted and received minimum terms of over four decades each. Lisa Wilson’s varied practice covers murder, drugs, and sexual offences cases. Jeffrey Israel has joined the team from 5KBW.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

'Alfie Lee, recently promoted to the position of Senior Clerk, is an outstanding clerk with tremendous ability to deal with issues skilfully and sensitively.'
'Alfie Lee always goes the extra mile. They are friendly and always on hand when needed.'
'25 Bedford Row is consistently one of the best criminal sets in London and fields an impressive array of seasoned and new advocates. Their younger tenants are impressive and reliable.'
'25 Bedford Row is the best set in the country. From their KCs down to their junior tenants the quality is outstanding.'
'25BR is one of the best leading criminal sets. They have a wealth of very good and experienced barristers.'
'25BR is an impeccable defence set with some of the greatest talent at the bar. For criminal defence work, from junior tenants to silk, there is counsel to suit every case and budget.'

Silks

Leading Silks

KCs at the very top of their field, with a long-established record of market-defining cases, and widespread endorsement from clients and peers. All silks appointed in the last two rounds are listed further below.

George Carter-Stephenson KC

25 Bedford Row

'George's manner and communication with clients is a particular strength of his - he is able to talk, engage and advise clients, of all backgrounds, in a down-to-earth and caring manner. This is extremely important in highly complex and sensitive cases.'

Paul Mendelle KC

25 Bedford Row

‘Paul is very intelligent and a canny operator. He is a superb lawyer and an effective communicator to the jury.'

Paul Hynes KC

25 Bedford Row

‘Paul is undoubtedly one of the cleverest barristers at the criminal Bar, if not the cleverest. His intellect is extraordinary. He is able to comprehend even the most complex areas of the law in a way that few others can, and then condense it in a way that makes sense to the layman. His humour means that judges, juries and law clients, combined with his exceptional ability, warm to him.’

Jeremy Dein KC

25 Bedford Row

‘Jeremy is a doyen of the criminal Bar. He rightly enjoys a reputation as one of the very best silks in the country. He is a formidable opponent and a fearsome cross-examiner. He is thorough, tenacious and fights tooth and nail for his clients. He is absolutely top drawer and the go-to barrister for those wish to defend the most serious and challenging cases.’

‘Simon is a unique barrister. He owns the courtroom when he stands up and you cannot help but listen to what he has to say. He is a true defender through and through and a street fighter for clients when the battle is uphill. He is always confident and will always provide clients with robust and direct advice, which is often needed.'

Tyrone Smith KC

25 Bedford Row

‘Tyrone's advocacy is top-notch. He has a wonderful way of appealing to the reasonableness of the jury without appearing to be partisan in advancing his own case. He is also tactically very astute and always plots a very good course through the case.'

Paul Keleher KC

25 Bedford Row

‘Paul’s strengths are his precision and integrity. No short cuts are taken on his watch and no prejudice against his client is permitted to go unchallenged. Paul is also well known to be the ablest user of technological and presentation aids at the Bar.’

Peter Doyle KC

25 Bedford Row

‘Peter is a tactical genius with decades of experience. He is at the top of his game.'

Laurie-Anne Power KC

25 Bedford Row

‘Laurie-Anne is the model of a modern silk. She is simply the complete package with a unique ability to build rapport with clients whilst giving down-to-earth advice. In court, she is a superstar. She is equally persuasive addressing a judge as a jury.’

Rudi Fortson KC

25 Bedford Row

‘Purely and simply, Rudi is top class, in fact second to none. He has many fine qualities and is able to marry an academic mind with the practical skills of a barrister. He is also very hardworking.’

2024 Silks

Beth O’Reilly KC

25 Bedford Row

‘Beth’s pomposity-puncturing advocacy style is highly effective with judges and juries, and opponents will find to their cost it does not pay to underestimate her command of the facts of the case, her razor-sharp intelligence or the depth of her legal knowledge.’

Juniors

Leading Juniors

Leading juniors are those with significant experience of key cases, strong market recognition from both peers and clients, and are seen as future candidates for silk.

Aisling Byrnes

25 Bedford Row

‘Aisling is a fierce advocate who will robustly argue her client's case. She is very thorough and a great tactician and dedicates herself to all of her clients and cases. She is especially good with vulnerable clients. Aisling is a junior at the top of her game.'

Michael Neofytou

25 Bedford Row

‘Michael is a beacon of the junior bar and stands head and shoulders above most barristers, including many silks. His tactical judgement is superb. He knows every case inside and out and this, together with his charisma and charm, means that he is a persuasive and compelling advocate. Michael sits at the very top of the tree of those who defend in serious criminal cases.'

Arlette Piercy

25 Bedford Row

‘Arlette is fearless but has judgement. Her client care is second to none. She really cares about her lay client and goes the extra mile to ensure they understand what’s happening every step of the way. Arlette is a brilliant advocate and juries love her.’

Ben Smitten

25 Bedford Row

‘Ben is the standout junior at the criminal Bar. His work ethic is staggering and his commitment is unwavering. His track record speaks for itself. Ben is tactically solid with a considered advocacy style and a unique ability to cut through to the real issues in cases. He is exceptional at anything he turns his hand to.’

Emma Akuwudike

25 Bedford Row

‘Emma's case preparation is excellent as is her knowledge and understanding of the law. She relates extremely well to both professional and lay clients. Her tactical judgement is also excellent as is her written work. In cross-examination she is clear, precise and to the point.'

Carolina Guiloff

25 Bedford Row

‘Carolina is involved in the preparation of a case from the very beginning and considers each detail to ensure that all preparation that can be undertaken is undertaken. She has great court presence and in multi-handed cases is able to ensure that the defence of her client is advanced strongly.'

Matthew Radstone

25 Bedford Row

‘Matthew is a superb advocate, has an excellent manner with clients, prepares to the highest standards and puts it all across in court in an extremely eloquent but not over-the-top manner. He is going far and is definitely a star of the criminal bar.'

Lisa Wilson

25 Bedford Row

‘Lisa is a go-to counsel for complex and serious offences now. Her advocacy is more than persuasive and not only do juries love her, she has a stellar reputation with court staff, judges and her opponents. She is calm yet persistent and will notice the tiniest of details that in reality could win a case. Her cross-examination is also phenomenal.'

David Wood

25 Bedford Row

‘David is an exemplary barrister. His ability to get to the core issues in a document heavy case is extremely impressive. His advocacy is of a very high level and he is very good with clients and takes great care to ensure that they understand the case against them.'

Daniel Murray

25 Bedford Row

‘Daniel is a formidable and fearless advocate. He pays meticulous attention to detail and is not afraid to challenge any injustices.'

Osman Osman

25 Bedford Row

‘Osman is a born legal mind. He has an excellent grasp of all the relevant law and recent cases and is able to apply it to the case at hand. He is able to work collaboratively and is fierce in court. Osman handles the unexpected with good grace and charm and is a pleasure to work with. He is a superb lawyer with a brilliant mind.'

Sheryl Nwosu

25 Bedford Row

‘Sheryl's case preparation is excellent as is her knowledge and understanding of the law. She relates extremely well to both professional and lay clients. Her tactical judgement is also excellent as is her written work. Her advocacy is clear, precise and to the point.'

Dominic Thomas

25 Bedford Row

‘Dom is in a field of his own in terms of advocacy, tactical thinking and client care. His advocacy is brave, compelling, intelligent and very effective. He has an outstanding ability to cut to the core of a case swiftly and definitively.'

Nicholas Whitehorn

25 Bedford Row

'Nicholas is phenomenal. He has the unique capacity to change a case through his cross-examination out-of-the-box thinking. He is a natural jury advocate who is able to simplify the most complex of issues in a straightforward, persuasive and engaging way.'

Alex Jamieson

25 Bedford Row

‘Alex is very well respected within the profession. He is very experienced and is also a very skilled and persuasive advocate who has a calm and gentle manner which can be disarming for his opponents.'

Warwick Aleeson

25 Bedford Row

‘Warwick has an engaging court manner which juries like, is not afraid to make tough decisions during the trial process, and always goes the extra mile for his clients. He has sound judgwment as well as the ability to compromise. Warwick is a pleasure to deal with.’

Sebastian Gardiner

25 Bedford Row

‘Sebastian is hard-working, efficient, client friendly, a fine tactician with sound judgement, an excellent lawyer, a powerful presence in court, and a very persuasive speaker. Sebastian is a dedicated defence advocate to the tips of his fingers.’

Monica Stevenson

25 Bedford Row

Jeffrey Israel

25 Bedford Row

‘Jeffrey is a stellar performer. He is extremely hard-working and a seasoned professional. He has a strong courtroom presence and a powerful and persuasive manner in cross-examination. Jeffrey is a class act and a silk in waiting.’

‘Paul is the complete package. He is fantastic with clients, has great court presence, prepares cases thoroughly and remains completely calm whatever happens in a case.'

Hannah Edwards

25 Bedford Row

‘Hannah is a highly capable barrister, able to manage cases with a vast amount of case material. She exhibits a remarkable capacity to distil complex legal issues and ensure that no legal detail is overlooked. She also has an excellent manner with clients.’

Alex Di Francesco

25 Bedford Row

‘Alex is a sharp and quick-thinking barrister who shows willingness to take the lead in difficult and complex multi-handed cases. His ability to adapt to the ever-changing issues in a case is particularly impressive. In terms of his advocacy, he has an excellent court manner and a gripping presence.'

Kate Chidgey

25 Bedford Row

‘Kate is persuasive and creative in her advocacy. She is authoritative and charms a jury with humour.'

James Gray

25 Bedford Row

‘James is simply fantastic and a real master in the art of advocacy. He is fiercely intelligent and leaves no stone unturned in advancing a defence. James is extremely thorough, diligent, razor sharp and able to deal with the nitty gritty in all cases. He is a silk in waiting.’

Michael Gomulka

25 Bedford Row

‘Michael is highly intelligent and a skilful advocate. His closing speeches are often presented in a novel and engaging manner. He is also an incisive cross-examiner.’

Emma Stuart-Smith

25 Bedford Row

‘Emma is sought after by the very best silks as she is an excellent lawyer in terms of drafting skills as well as being an equally effective advocate. She combines sheer hard work with natural flair. Emma is a star.’

Laura Collier

25 Bedford Row

‘Laura’s client care is second to none and is combined with a meticulous eye for detail. She has a natural ability to translate complex legal issues into relatable concepts – which makes her a star in front of a jury.’

Kerrie Ann Rowan

25 Bedford Row

‘Kerrie is as bright as a tack. She combines a huge intellect with an unrivalled work ethic. Her ability to grasp complicated legal issues is frighteningly good and her judgement is always excellent.’

Rising stars

Rising stars at the Bar are defined as barristers between four and eight years’ call who are seen as up-and-coming members of the Bar in their respective practice areas by clients and peers alike. They will already be instructed in high-profile, complex, and high-value contentious and non-contentious matters, working with and opposite more experienced leading counsel.