Tom Cockroft

Education:

BA (Jurisprudence) Magdalen College, Oxford

Awards:

Astbury Scholarship (Middle Temple)

 

Following a twelve month pupillage at 6 King's Bench Walk, Tom joined chambers as a third six pupil in October 2011.

Tom is regularly instructed to advise and represent defendants in the Magistrates', Youth and Crown Courts. His experience covers offences of violence, dishonesty, drugs and road traffic offences. He prosecutes on behalf of the National Probation Service and Transport for London in the Crown Court.

Over the course of pupillage, Tom spent eight months with Treasury Counsel at the Central Criminal Court, preparing summaries and schedules of evidence in cases of murder and gross negligence manslaughter, skeleton arguments for appeals and advices on the merits of an Attorney General's reference. He also drafted observations on behalf of the Government of the United Kingdom for the European Court of Human Rights on the issue of whether an increase in sentence in excess of the maximum term stated in a Goodyear indication violated the Applicant's rights under Article 6 of the Convention.

Tom has considerable experience of drafting legal submissions in a wide range of cases, including confiscation matters, judicial reviews and inquests.

Before starting pupillage, Tom spent time working in the prosecutor's office at the Central Criminal Court in Argentina. He has attended conferences and training courses internationally, including in Buenos Aires and the Sorbonne in Paris.

Tom is fluent in Catalan, Spanish and French.