Nicola Devas

Practice
Nicola Devas has considerable experience in all areas of criminal law and has specialised in crime throughout her career, spanning from 1983 to date. Initially qualifying as a Solicitor, she spent her early career in private practice, co-founding her own practice 1994 and gaining her Higher Rights qualifications in 1997. This background gives her an insight into the challenges facing solicitors, allowing her to empathise and provide a supportive service to those instructing. Her practice includes a wide range of serious criminal offences both defending and prosecuting.

She is instructed both to prosecute and defend in cases involving fraud, dishonesty and serious violence, firearms, death by dangerous driving. She is regularly instructed in serious sexual offences including rape and sexual offences against very young children and male rape. She has also appeared in cases involving complex disclosure matters and has appeared in the Civil Courts to obtain release of related papers.

She has also acted as leading counsel in a fraud case and as junior counsel both to prosecute and defend cases involving murder.

She has knowledge of Mental Health Act issues, having in the past represented patients at Mental Health Tribunals, having both prosecuted and defended issues of fitness to plead and subsequent trials and has appeared in cases involving the sentencing of those with illnesses under the Mental Health Act.

Her regulatory experience includes trading standards prosecutions and the more usual areas such as licensing and disciplinary hearings.

She has also dealt with all manner of Road Traffic Act Offences, particularly involving disqualification issues.

Recent Cases

R .v. W [2011]
Prosecution of young male with mental health issues convicted of sexual assaults on 2 young girls aged 6 and 8.

R .v. R [2010]
Successful prosecution of male convicted of sexually assaulting and raping a male under the age of 18 over a number of years.

R .v. Thackray
Leading counsel defending a company director accused of fraudulent trading.

R v C
Successful prosecution of man who raped his step daughter. The case involved complex issues of disclosure and highlighted the problems and difficulties associated with young victims giving evidence. Defendant sentenced to 13 years.

R –v- Watchman, Fiddes and others
Junior counsel defending in a case involving interlinked conspiracies to steal goods to the value of in excess of £400,000.

R –v- Galinis, Gregoriou,Pleckaitis, Zdebskis
Prosecution of 4 males charged with conspiracy to kidnap and blackmail, involving a protection racket.

R –v- Da Silva
Defence of bridegroom in  case involving 3 males accused of conspiring to facilitate a “sham marriage”

1. Reported on BBC News
2. UK Borders Agency Website
3. Local Newspapers

R –v- Shaw
Prosecution of male charged with assaulting and raping adult female.

R –v- Tothill
Prosecution of a male charged with sexual grooming, sexual assault and rape of young girls.

R –v- Smith
Defending in a case involving fraud to the value of £100,000.

R –v- Rumbold 
Appeared at Trial for Defendant charged with a numerous rapes and inciting a child under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity.

R –v- Watling 
Prosecuted multiple S.18 wounding with intent charges.

R –v- Barker 
Appeared as junior counsel in the defence of an elderly male charged with murder.

R –v- Ayeva 
Instructed to defend a male charged with sexual assault on a female.

R – v-   Quereshi 
Prosecuted a taxi driver charged with sexually assaulting a female passenger.

R –v- Hanks 
Instructed to defend a female charged with offences of false imprisonment, robbery and aggravated burglary.

R .v. Williams
Successfully defended one of 2 males charged with a serious, life threatening  S.18 wounding.

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