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March 2010

IN THE NEWS... ANNIE JOHNSTON INSTRUCTED TO DEFEND $100 MILLION ‘BOILER ROOM’ FRAUD

Annie Johnston has been instructed to defend one of seven people who have been charged this week with conspiring to defraud investors through a series of alleged share scam operations, known as 'boiler rooms'. Losses to investors are believed to exceed US$100 million. The SFO launched the investigation in September 2007 which focused on the activities of a series of purported share brokerage companies based in Spain between 2003 and 2007.

More information to follow. Click here to link to the SFO website for further information.

February 2010

IN THE NEWS... FANTASIST MEDIC CLAIMED HE WAS QUALIFIED

Robert Bryan recently concluded a case at Portsmouth Crown Court that has been widely reported; it poses serious questions about how stringently qualifications on medical CVs are checked. Although he was already a qualified nurse, Greig Ferguson decided to exaggerate his qualifications when he applied for the post of emergency nurse practitioner. He told health bosses he had worked at the County General Hospital in Chicago, the fictional hospital that launched the career of Hollywood star George Clooney. He also falsely claimed he had seen action as a medic in the Royal Marines.

Ferguson confessed his lies and pleaded guilty to two charges of fraud. In court, Robert Bryan compared him to Jeffrey Archer, the disgraced MP who was jailed in 2001 for perjury and perverting the course of justice. Addressing the judge, Mr Bryan said: "I know not whether your honour is, or was, ever a devotee of a certain Channel 4 drama but the hospital on his CV in Chicago was the hospital starring in ER. There can be few people in this country who at one stage or another have not inflated or said something to increase their standing. Whether that is with a work colleague, whether it's to impress a potential girlfriend or her parents or whether it's perhaps to do what Jeffrey Archer did, to make themselves seem better, that's all this man did."

February 2010

IN THE NEWS... CHAMBERS UK DIRECTORY RECOMMENDATION

For the second year running, we are proud to announce that barristers at One Paper Buildings have been given ‘Top Ranked’ status in the 2010 Chambers & Partners UK directory. They say : “One Paper Buildings offers a wide choice of quality counsel”. Head of Chambers Michael Hubbard QC and Karim Khalil QC have both been awarded ‘leading individual’ status, as testament to the high esteem those instructing hold them as well as the many glowing reports to the directory researchers. They are both in the top tier of recommended silks for Criminal matters in their respective circuits. This ranking is a sought after accolade and is only awarded after extensive research by the directory. To read more, click on the Chambers UK icon below.

February 2010

IN THE NEWS... ADVANCE IN DNA SNARES RAPIST

Stephen Spence recently secured the conviction of a rapist twenty years after the crime had taken place thanks to advances in DNA techniques. Ipswich Crown Court heard how Phil Collins, 50, was identified after advances in DNA techniques pinpointed a link to him via a family member. The trial took four weeks and it is believed that this is one of the first contested trails involving LCN and YSTR DNA. Mr Spence said the science of DNA was in its infancy when the case was originally investigated in 1990, and not as sophisticated as it is today; therefore the initial police inquiry had failed to find the attacker. The investigation into the attack was reviewed by Suffolk Police in 2008 in light of forensic science advances, and they used samples that were kept in storage at forensic laboratories which they tested again after the advances in technology enabled more sensitive analysis.

Stephen Spence told the jury that DNA found on the victim’s bra and knickers “precisely” matched Collins’s DNA. The chances of it coming from someone else were “one in a billion”. He was given two 10-year sentences for the serious sexual offence charges, 10 years for rape and eight years each for indecent assault, to run concurrently. See below for links from the beginning to end of this important trial.

January 2010

IN THE NEWS... TWO JAILED FOR MURDERING TERMINALLY ILL MAN

Karim Khalil QC successfully prosecuted two men charged with beating a terminally ill man so severely that he died the next day from his injuries. Father-of-three John Vry, 55, suffered a "horrific and sustained" attack in an alleyway in Lowestoft in December 2008, Ipswich Crown Court heard. Mr Khalil said Mr Vry, who had undergone surgery and chemotherapy for his cancer, was in no condition to defend himself. He had been undergoing various treatments for his illness, but there was no chance of recovery. Mr Vry had only stepped out to purchase some chips when approached in an alleyway and attacked. One eye witness described the defendants as ‘stamping on his head’ and requested an ambulance as well as Police, such was the severity of the prolonged attack. The first defendant, James Killingback, was sentenced to a minimum of 19 years, whilst his younger accomplice Aaron Breffitt, who was just seventeen at the time, was sentenced to a minimum of 12 years.

January 2010

IN THE NEWS... ALASTAIR MALCOLM QC ACCEPTS APPOINTMENT TO SFO QUEEN’S COUNSEL LIST

Chambers congratulate Alastair Malcolm QC upon his appointment to the inaugural Serious Fraud Office Queen’s Counsel list. Alastair is one of a select band of Queen’s Counsel chosen to be included in the list which means, essentially, he will be one of the SFO’s preferred Queen’s Counsel for a period of three years commencing January 2010.

December 2009

IN THE NEWS... MOTHER FOUND GUILTY OF 18 CHARGES OF ABUSE UPON HER OWN CHILDREN

Andrew Shaw successfully prosecuted a mother of six who had subjected her children aged between 6 months and 14 years old to a prolonged period of abuse. She was alleged to have beaten the children with various kitchen utensils and also threatened other children when they witnessed the abuse. The children were noted as being ‘withdrawn’ and ‘petrified’ of their mother. Cambridgeshire County Council admitted monitoring the family since 1999 yet charges were only brought against the mother after two of the children discussed the abuse with a teacher. A spokesman said: "We acted as soon as these allegations came to light and the children were immediately taken into care. The defendant was successfully convicted of 17 of the 24 counts she was prosecuted for. Also acting in the case was fellow One Paper buildings barrister, Georgina Gibbs, who was acting for the defendant. See links below for more reports on this case that generated national interest:

December 2009

IN THE NEWS...GANG OF SEVEN JAILED FOR ‘PROLIFIC’ SPATE OF BURGLARIES

Gregory Perrins led Quinton Newcomb in successfully prosecuting a gang of seven men at Ipswich Crown Court who had been involved in over 170 thefts or burglaries. The total value of goods stolen was thought to be in the region of £300,000. The gang targeted small communities in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex and stole from homes and businesses, and in some cases they burgled houses whilst the occupants were asleep. They also stole vehicles and filmed themselves doing so with stolen cameras. Gregory and Quinton were joined in this matter by fellow One Paper barristers Andrew Shaw, Jo Eley and Nicola Devas acting for the defence.

Judge Peter Fenn remarked when sentencing the gang to a combined total of 30 years that these were “extremely serious and prolific” offenders.

December 2009

RECORDERS APPOINTED

Chambers are delighted to congratulate Chris Morgan and Angela Rafferty on their appointments as Recorders of the Crown Court.

November 2009

IN THE NEWS... LORRY DRIVER SENTENCED TO THREE YEARS FOR DEATH BY DANGEROUS DRIVING

After a six day trial, a Cambridgeshire driver was sentenced to three years imprisonment and was banned from driving for four years as a result of being found guilty of dangerous driving. John Farmer successfully appeared on behalf of the prosecution at Cambridge Crown Court in relation to a horrific a road accident in which two scientists were killed. The defendant was driving a HGV which failed to stop in time to avert a multiple crash involving two cars and another HGV. For more information click on the links below:

November 2009

IN THE NEWS... FOSTER CARER ALLEGEDLY GROOMED, ABDUCTED AND RAPED TWELVE YEAR OLD BOY IN CARE

Alastair Malcolm QC is acting for the prosecution on a matter that has attracted press interest both in the UK and beyond. The defendant, Christopher Waite, is charged with rape, sexual activity with a child, child abduction, grooming a child, sexual assault, inciting sexual activity with a child and possessing indecent images. Mr Waite was a registered foster carer with Hampshire County Council in 2002 but was not responsible for looking after the alleged victim. The court have heard how the defendant helped the victim abscond from care homes and hid him in his house. For more information on the case, click on one of the links to press reports below:

November 2009

IN THE NEWS... APPEAL AGAINST SENTENCE FOR MURDER RE-ENACTMENT REFUSED

Karim Khalil QC successfully represented the Crown in the appeal against sentence of Jonathan Clarke, one of the defendants in the murder re-enactment case. Appearing before the Lord Chief Justice, Henriques J and Rafferty J, it was decided that the Trial judge took into account all mitigating factors, and that the correct jail term of 30 years had been handed down. For more information on this case see the earlier news item.

November 2009

IN THE NEWS... Jehad Mustafa

Building upon his success in gaining tenancy last year Jehad Mustafa has been approached to write a regular column for the Lawyer2B website. Further to his short article on this website about life as a pupil barrister, he was approached to produce regular updates for this prestigious website and quarterly magazine about life at the Criminal Bar. Jehad continues to practice nationally and is building a reputation not only as a great jury advocate but also something of a diarist – or should that be blogger nowadays? See links below for the first instalments – this link will be updated when the articles are published.

November 2009

IN THE NEWS... Stephen Spence

Stephen Spence has been interviewed at length by BBC Look East further to their recent series of news items on the local courts and court users. You can find the relevant programme on the BBC website iplayer for a limited time. This request reflects the reputation that both Stephen and One Paper have built in Norfolk. You can see other BBC reports on cases upon which Stephen has appeared in the links below.

September 2009

IN THE NEWS... NURSERY JOB VETTING TOO LAX?

Lindsay Cox successfully appeared at Cambridge Crown Court on a case which highlighted the deficiencies in vetting potential employees within the childcare sector. The case, coming in the week nursery worker Vanessa George admitted abusing infants in Plymouth and sharing pictures with online paedophiles, has sparked calls for a review of staff vetting at nurseries. Although none of the pictures were taken at the nurseries concerned, families and media are justifiably concerned as to how this person was allowed to work with children. For recent press reports see links below:

September 2009

IN THE NEWS... TEENAGER TORTURED AND MURDERED IN RE-ENACTMENT OF HORROR FILM

Karim Khalil QC and Christopher Morgan successfully prosecuted three defendants charged with a ‘grotesque’ torture and murder case at Norwich crown court. This matter attracted much interest due to the copycat nature of the crime, as well as the sheer level of brutality. At the opening of the trial at Norwich Crown Court, Karim Khalil QC said: 'This case will demonstrate the grotesque brutality that people can inflict on one another in the name of sexual jealousy and warped allegiance to one another.' At the end of the trial Detective Chief Inspector Steve Strong, of Norfolk Police, said: 'This is the worst murder case that Norfolk Police have had to deal with’. See links below for more information.

September 2009

IN THE NEWS... WOMAN SENTENCED TO 33 YRS FOR MURDERING HER DAUGHTERS

John Farmer and Claire Matthews gain conviction for CPS in the high profile Regina v Kumari-Baker murder trial at Cambridge Crown Court. This case was mentioned not just for the horrific nature of the crime, but in later reports for the severity of the sentence. After a trial lasting over two weeks, the jury took just 35 minutes to come to agreement that her diminished responsibility defence was not true. See links below for the whole story:

August 2009

Chambers have recruited a new Marketing Director

Chambers are pleased to announce the appointment of Brett Carver as their new Marketing Director. Brett’s appointment reflects Chambers continuing plan of expansion and development into new areas of law whilst consolidating their position as a leading criminal set. Brett will be working closely with Mark Cornell in this regard.

August 2009

Robert Clive Smith has joined Chambers as a door tenant

Robert Clive Smith has joined Chambers as a door tenant. Robert is a sole practitioner based in Sheffield with an outstanding reputation on the North Eastern circuit. He specialises in serious crime, and combines this with Family and Chancery work. He regularly appears in Crown and County courts on that circuit, as well as tribunals and the Court of Appeal.

April 2009

Nicola Talbot accepts invitation to join Chambers

One Paper Buildings is pleased to announce that Nicola Talbot has accepted an invitation to join Chambers.

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