September 29, 2022
Red Lion Chambers are pleased to have maintained Tier 1 ranking in the category of Crime in this year’s Legal 500 for the third year running.
A total 48 members achieved rankings with many being cited in multiple practice areas.
The set was reviewed as having “extraordinary strength in depth, both prosecuting and defending’ and as an “excellent set of chambers, probably one of the best in the country.”
Chambers were ranked across 12 practice areas including: Crime, Business and Regulatory Crime including Global Investigations, Financial Services Regulation; Fraud (Civil); Fraud (Crime); Health and Safety; International Crime and Extradition, POCA and Asset Forfeiture, Professional disciplinary and regulatory law, Tax, Environment and Sport.
The 2023 guide for Crime made special mention of Riel Karmy-Jones KC for her successful prosecution of a teenager who shot his friend in the face with a shotgun. Jennifer Dempster KC defence in a trial for the murder of six-year-old Rikki Neave in 1994 and joint head of Chambers, Gillian Jones KC’s successful defence of a woman accused of allowing her boyfriend to murder her month-old baby. Additionally, Christopher Paxton KC, who successfully prosecuted a woman who murdered her husband in the presence of their two children. Simon Spence KC was noted for his expertise in handling serious violence, drugs, sexual offences, fraud, and regulatory offence cases.
New entries included Dan Taylor, Genevieve Reed and Ed Renvoize.
Recognised for work in Business Crime, Chambers were seen “as a go to for white collar crime and POCA cases” with an “impressive stable of business crime barristers, having been involved in “a number of the leading business crime cases of recent years”.
Highlights included Michael Goodwin KC who was described as “one of the best advocates around” with Cameron Brown KC (who took Silk in 2020) ranked in Tier 1. David Claxton was newly listed. Mention was given to Allison Clare KC who successfully defended reality TV personality Lewis Bloor on allegations of being part of a £3m diamond investment fraud with David Walbank KC prosecuting a fraud by abuse of position through the exploitation of a Power of Attorney to allegedly denude an elderly man of his estate.
The Clerks Team were noted for being “highly efficient and well run by the Practice Director, Mark Bennett” with Lee Young, Christopher Jones and Theresa Feeney given special mention.
Gillian Jones KC and Tony Shaw KC – Joint Heads of Chambers said:
“We are delighted to have been ranked Tier 1 for Crime for the third year running with 48 RLC counsel acknowledged for their advocacy work and legal expertise in both prosecution and defence case work. The individual rankings of our members highlight our expertise across 12 practice areas- a phenomenal achievement! In addition, we are pleased to see our Clerks Team recognised all under the formidable leadership of Practice Director Mark Bennet.”
To read the full list of 2023 rankings please see: [The Legal 500]