Will Martin is a highly regarded junior, ranked in the Legal 500 as a leader in the fields of crime and sport.
Considered to be a first-class advocate and astute tactician, Will advises and acts for individuals and companies in a diverse array of matters across the criminal spectrum, from pre-charge through to trial.
Will’s criminal practice focuses primarily on defending and prosecuting serious crime, white-collar crime and regulatory crime. He has particular experience in complex cases, including murder, bribery and high-value fraud.
In April 2024, Will was appointed by the Attorney-General as Treasury Counsel monitoree for a period of three years.
Will has a busy sports law practice, with an expertise in football. He regularly acts for sports’ governing bodies, as well as other participants in the game, in high-profile regulatory and disciplinary disputes.
Will is considered by The Legal 500 to be “one of the best juniors in sports regulatory disputes out there”, and was shortlisted as Sports Junior of the Year in The Legal 500 UK Bar Awards 2023.
Will is able to receive Direct Access instructions.
Will specialises in defending and prosecuting cases of business and white collar crime, including high value fraud, bribery and corruption, money laundering, and bankruptcy and insolvency offences.
Will has extensive experience both defending and prosecuting SFO and FCA cases. He spent a year seconded to the FCA working on Operation Tabernula, the largest ever insider trading prosecution brought by the regulator, and Operation Cotton, a multi-million pound land banking fraud.
Will has experience defending in high-value cases involving cryptocurrencies, and engaging with complex concepts such as Bitcoin clustering and tracing.
Will is experienced in defending complex confiscation proceedings at first instance and before the Court of Appeal.
R v AH & Ors
Led junior defending the company director of a demolition company alleged to have bribed employees of a large multinational construction company to favour his workers. Instructed by Shearman Bowen solicitors.
R v JL & Ors
Defence of individual charged with involvement in a conspiracy to defraud customers of Blockchain.com of massive amounts of Bitcoin (£15m plus) using a spoofed website.
Insolvency Service v A, B & C
Advising the directors of a MedTech company in relation to an Insolvency Service investigation into an alleged failure to notify creditors of an application to strike off a company.
Operation Grapevine
Leading junior defending a disqualified company director accused of the laundering the proceeds of a £13m Ponzi scheme. The trial at Southwark Crown Court lasted two months. Instructed by Shearman Bowen solicitors.
Lam v R
Appeal against first instance judge’s determination of a wife’s interest in assets available to satisfy confiscation order (the marital home) following the husband’s conviction for tax evasion. Reported at Lam v R. [2022] EWCA Crim 448.
SFO v Thomas & Ors
Led junior defending the CEO of an international fibre-optic / infrastructure company alleged to have played a significant role in a factoring fraud perpetrated against Barclays and KBC banks to the value of £160m. The trial at Southwark Crown Court lasted five months. Instructed by Janes Solicitors.
A fearless and agile advocate, Will’s defence practice has a particular focus on serious and complex cases, and encompasses matters such as white collar crime, homicide, drug importation and supply, and public disorder including protests.
Will has particular experience in representing professionals, including company directors and executives, doctors and police officers.
R v JL & Ors
Represented first of three defendants at Bristol Crown Court. Operation Jigsaw investigated a sophisticated fraud perpetrated on thousands of cryptocurrency wallets held at Blockchain.com. More than £5m is known to have been lost by victims.
R v RO & Ors
Leading Eleanor Fox, represented one of three defendants at St Albans Crown Court charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. This was an ‘EncroChat’ case arising from the NCA’s Operation Venetic.
R v RL
Defence (led) of defendant accused of part-financing £30 million international cocaine importation. The trial lasted two months. Instructed by Shearman Bowen solicitors.
R v RW
Defence (led) of a 15 year old charged with murder. Instructed by Fosse Law.
R v MCT
Defence (led) of an individual charged with murder. Instructed by Fosse Law.
R v TP & Ors
Defence (alone) of an individual charged with violent disorder following involvement in clashes with police and antifascist protesters. The incident was widely reported following the channel 4 documentary Angry, White & Proud. Instructed by Duncan Lewis solicitors.
Will frequently advises and represents clients who wish to bring or defend private prosecution proceedings.
Will has successfully conducted numerous prosecutions in the Magistrates’ and Crown Courts.
Will brings invaluable public prosecution experience to bear on the private sphere, having advised on investigation, restraint of assets, evidence, charging, disclosure, and confiscation for agencies as diverse as the CPS, SFO, FCA, UKBA and the Home Office.
Will has particular expertise managing issues of disclosure, a potential pitfall of private prosecution, and has drafted numerous disclosure management documents and protocols.
Will has also helped train private investigators to assist them in giving live evidence in court.
R v B & Ors
Will defended three businessmen against a private prosecution brought by a disgruntled associate. The associate alleged a conspiracy to commit blackmail in relation to the purchase of a property.
Following written representations, the DPP was persuaded to take over the case and the CPS then offered no evidence against the three men. Will obtained costs against the private prosecutor for having brought the case improperly, a decision ratified by the Divisional Court: The Queen (on the application of Ayodeji Holloway) and Harrow Crown Court and Adamneet Singh Bhui, Jimneet Singh Bhui and Gurpinder Singh Bhui [2019] EWHC 1731 (Admin)
Will specialises in sports professional discipline, particularly within football. Please see the Sports Law tab for more detail.
Additionally, Will has appeared before other disciplinary tribunals, including at the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.
Will is a Grade 4 Prosecutor. He is frequently instructed as junior counsel, as well as acting alone.
Will’s prosecution practice encompasses cases across the criminal spectrum, including matters such as homicide and serious violence, drug supply, and serious sexual offences. Will has particular experience prosecuting cases of human trafficking by organised crime networks.
R v L & C
Prosecution of two men for the murder of Tashan Daniel at Hillington Underground Station. Led by Jonathan Rees KC; instructed by the CPS Homicide Unit.
Prosecution of ZN and six other individuals for conspiring to attack ZN’s 3-year-old child using sulphuric acid. The attack took place in a busy shop in Worcester. Led by Jonathan Rees QC; instructed by CPS West Midlands Complex Casework Unit
R v EM
Prosecution of EM for the murder of a young man at a butcher’s shop in Wood Green. Led by Brian O’Neill QC; instructed by the CPS Homicide Unit,
Prosecution of DF for the killing of his 11-year-old niece. Led by Jonathan Rees QC; instructed by CPS West Midlands Complex Casework Unit
R v SP & Ors
Prosecution of a network of Slovakian traffickers for bringing women from Eastern Europe to the UK for the purposes of sham marriage and prostitution. Led by Sarah Przybylska; instructed by the CPS Special Casework Unit,
R v KH & KH
Prosecution of two public officials at Broadmoor secure psychiatric unit in relation to payments made by the News of the World and Daily Mirror for stories. Led junior; Instructed by CPS Organised Crime Division.
Will’s advises and represents clients in sports regulatory and disciplinary disputes.
Will is considered by The Legal 500 to be “one of the best juniors in sports regulatory disputes out there”, and was shortlisted as Sports Junior of the Year in The Legal 500 UK Bar Awards 2023.
Will has a particular expertise in football, and regularly acts in high profile cases for sports’ governing bodies, such as the Football Association and the English Football League.
Will is adept at dealing with both on and off-field disputes. On-field, he is often instructed in matters relating to violent or abusive conduct by players, coaches or supporters. Off-field, Will specialises proceedings relating to intermediaries (i.e. players’ and clubs’ agents), and disputes relating to the ownership of, and interests held in, clubs.
Will has extensive experience dealing with safeguarding disputes and Anti-Doping Regulation Violations.
Will has represented The FA at appellate level, and advised both The FA and The EFL in relation to High Court proceedings.
Will’s current instructions include:
Will’s recent cases include:
This was the season of the points deduction. Specifically, the first season of points deductions…
On 3 May 2024, defendants were sentenced at Bristol Crown Court, having earlier pleaded guilty…
Will Martin has been appointed to the Treasury Counsel monitoree scheme commencing April 2024. Treasury…
