Year of Call: 1992
School - Prior Park College Bath
University - Manchester LL.B (Hons)
School of Law - Inns of Court
Called to the Bar - 1992 (Gray’s Inn)
Criminal Bar Association
Northern Circuit
Since being called to the Bar in 1992 Michael has developed a considerable practice at the Criminal Bar. A Category 4 prosecutor who also defends to a similar level.
All aspects of serious crime are undertaken including homicide, sexual offences, large scale drugs conspiracies, fraud and firearms offences plus offences of violence.
R v SCOTT WATKINS (August 2018) Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester
– Case involving an uninsured driver who caused the death of one spectator of an unauthorised “Car Meet” event and the serious injury of 4 others. The defendant lost control whilst attempting to ‘drift’ a vehicle he was unfamilar with, mounted the pavement, stiking the spectators and fled the scene.
R v MATTHEW HANKINSON & OTHERS (July 2018) Central Criminal Court, London
– Counsel for the defence in a terrorist trial in which it was alleged the Defendant was a leading member of a proscribed organisation which was behind a plot to kill a serving MP & police officer.
R v I (2018)
Instructed to defend a youth charged with murder.
R v Y (2018)
Instructed to defend one of a large number of defendants charged with cash in transit robberies.
R v A (2017)
Instructed to prosecute a serving police officer charged with attempting to rape his wife, also a serving police officer.
R v N (2017)
Instructed to prosecute a man for the repeated rape of his wife over the course of a 20-year marriage.
R v H & others (2017)
Instructed to prosecute a multi-handed conspiracy to blackmail.
R v N (2017)
Instructed to prosecute an in-patient with mental health difficulties charged with sexually assaulting a number of nurses.
R v G & Others (2017)
Instructed to prosecute a multi-handed football violence case.
R v D & Others (2017)
Instructed to prosecute a multi-handed Class ‘A’ drugs conspiracy.
R v B (2017)
Instructed to prosecute a man charged with sexually assaulting members of his wife’s family by inserting, with their ostensible consent, hypodermic needles into their genitalia.
R v L & Others (2017)
Instructed to defend one of a number of defendants in a large conspiracy to supply class ‘A’ drugs.
R v D (2017)
Instructed to defend a man charged with historical repeated rape of a childhood friend, who had severe medical difficulties. A particularly challenging case.
R v I (2017)
Instructed to prosecute a man charged with attempted murder. The Defendant had severed the Complainant’s arm from his body.
R v M & Others (2017)
Instructed to prosecute a number of men charged with robbery of an elderly, wheel bound woman in her home during the course of which severe injuries were inflicted upon her.
R v D & Others (2017)
Instructed to defend a man, one of a number of members of the same family, charged with grooming and repeatedly raping 2 complainants who were 12 & 14 years of age.
R v D & Others-Operation Tungsten (2014-2017)
Instructed as Leading Junior to prosecute approximately 20 defendants in a series of trials in connection with a large number of overlapping drugs conspiracies. Ongoing.
On Sunday, following an arduous 8 hours in the saddle, our fees clerk Stuart successfully completed his British Red Cross cycling challenge. His final day took him on a 103 mile ride through some of the most…
> Read More ALL ARTICLESWild v Wild [2018] EWHC 2197 (Ch), [2018] All ER (D) 04 (Sep) David Hoffman successfully appeared for the Defendants at this recent…
On Sunday, following an arduous 8 hours in the saddle, our fees clerk Stuart successfully completed his British Red Cross cycling challenge. His…
Stuart Howard-Cofield from 18 St John Street’s administration team is going the extra mile (or extra few hundred miles!) for the British Red…