Criminal Defence

2 Hare Court is widely acknowledged as one of the foremost criminal defence sets in the country and has a long and proud history of representing both individuals and companies facing criminal prosecution.

Chambers offers unrivalled expertise and exceptional ability in defence at all levels of the criminal justice system, from pre-charge advice to representation before the highest appellate courts. Members of Chambers are recognised for the outstanding quality of their written and oral advice and careful, precise advocacy in defence of their clients. We appear throughout England and Wales, Northern Ireland, the Caribbean and in other international jurisdictions.

We offer specialist and committed representation to those charged with life or reputation-changing allegations and recognise that every case is of critical importance to the people who are involved, regardless of its apparent size or the attendant media coverage, although many of the cases in which we are instructed are of national or international interest.

Examples of cases in which members have defended include, Ike Ekweremadu, a former Nigerian Senator prosecuted for an organ harvesting plot, the Boohoo modern slavery investigation, the trial of Imran Khan MP for sexual assault, the Boris Becker insolvency case, the John Leslie sexual assault case, the Benjamin Mendy rape trial, the News International phone hacking cases (Rebekah Brooks and Ian Edmonson), the ‘Dizzee Rascal’ domestic assault case, the murder of au pair Sophie Lionnet, the pensioner killer Danville Neil, the police-killing cannibal Stefano Brizzi, Just Stop Oil activists and those accused of breaching Covid regulations.

Members of chambers are contributors to the leading publications used by practitioners; we lecture and provide training to companies and individuals concerned about compliance.