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E: cdrury@4bb.co.uk Call: 2000 Professional Membership: Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn; Criminal Bar Association; Bar Union; Liberty and Amnesty. Member of Chambers Management Committee. Head of the Chambers Marketing Committee – role includes dealing with budget, branding, organising events and functions and general business development; Secretary to the Pupillage Committee –involved in all aspects of in-house training and pupillage recruitment at 4 Breams Buildings; Previously involved in teaching advocacy and negotiation role play and examinations at BPP School of Law; Given lectures and seminars for clients, solicitors and counsel. Academic Background: LLB (Joint Hons.) Law and Politics (Hull) PERSONAL INTERESTS Watching Manchester City in action as much as possible. Fine dining, Fine wines, travelling, theatre, live music and comedy. Karaoke. Going to the gym when time permits. Chilling out with a fabulous bottle of wine and reading a good book. |
AREAS OF EXPERTISE Claire has recently completed 24 hours of CPD requirement in the fields of market abuse, insider dealing, and FSMA and has received a certificate upon completion of the Financial Institutions course at BPP. Commercial, Corporate and Civil Fraud & Insolvency offences – including advising on director’s duties, director’s disqualification, fraudulent and wrongful trading; Dishonesty & Revenue Offences – including mortgage, banking, benefits and other fraud, money laundering, VAT and PAYE offences and counterfeiting; Prosecutions for and defending against HM Revenue and Customs; Regulatory work; Corporate Manslaughter including health and safety breaches and Coroner’s Inquests; Serious Organised Crime offences - appeared in first prosecution under SOCA; Confiscation Hearings and asset forfeiture applications; Mental Health; Extensive experience of acting in high profile criminal matters including homicide cases GBH and other violence offences; Serious sexual offences (including prosecuting and defending multiple rape cases and offences committed against children); Serious criminal arson and damage cases; Armed robbery and flying squad prosecutions; Drugs importation and supply offences; Extradition hearings; Mental health cases involving disability discrimination and human rights arguments; Successfully negotiating lesser charges in fraud and drugs cases and basis of pleas thus precluding confiscation proceedings; Extensive advocacy experience, skills include wide range of drafting skills, including defence case statements, witness statements, interim applications and orders, schedules of evidence. CASES OF NOTE Money Laundering and Counterfeiting - Leading Defence Counsel in multi-million sterling and euro counterfeiting currency conspiracy concerning 15 Defendants. Cross-border case involving complex tracing and surveillance elements and disclosure issues. This prosecution was brought by the Serious Organised Crime Group. Banking Fraud – Sole Defence Counsel in large scale sophisticated banking fraud carried out over a long period of time with multiple defendants, including conspiring with internal bank employees and banking computing system interference. This case was regarded as a VHCC due to its complexity and value. Revenue Fraud - Junior Counsel in case concerning complex revenue fraud of in excess of £2,300,000, including issues relating to fraudulent trading, director’s disqualification, fiduciary duties, complex group structure arrangements and offshore holdings and trust structures and advising individual shareholder on issues of shadow directorship and dealings with special compliance unit of HMRC. Civil Banking Fraud - Junior Counsel in successful defence of civil banking fraud in the High Court, including issues relating to proper execution of facility letters, drafting and interpretation of letters of credit, forgery, evidential inconsistencies and drawdown arrangements. Patent Infringement and Counterfeiting – Defence Counsel in case involving the criminal prosecution of producers, suppliers and distributors of counterfeit DVDs. Sole Counsel in defence of a number of DWP fraud cases, including cross-county conspiracy in excess of £1,000,000, issues involving disclosure and continuity of evidence. R v Duberry and Paine - Advised on evidence pre-charge, prosecution junior in £1.3million fraud, involving a Solicitor stealing and transferring funds from the estates of deceased clients. Included complex transfers, tracing and significant breach of trusts. Also instructed in the confiscation and asset forfeiture case following successful conviction. R v Carter - Mortgage fraud - Successfully appeared in the Court of Appeal on behalf of the Appellant, a mortgage broker, and obtained the reduction of sentence from 2 years to 12 months for the fraud of approx £250,000, including breach of trust and sophistication of the offence. R v Stuart, securing the acquittal at trial of a Defendant charged with Possession with intent to supply £10,000 of Class A drugs. Issues included argument re lifestyle, the admission of psychological evidence and psychiatric evidence. The non-admission of surveillance evidence. R v Harrigan, Junior counsel in a trial concerning murder and perverting the course of justice. Legal argument re the admission of psychological evidence, special measures, inference of no comment interviews. R v Conaghan & Others, Junior Defence Counsel in 3 handed murder case, linked with the Brinks Mat robberies. Dealing with no less than 8 experts and complicated issues of disclosure, telecommunications evidence and DNA evidence. Role included the examination-in-chief of experts in court. R v Surrenti, Hedges and Scott, appeared for the prosecution including advising pre charge on evidence and appropriate indictment, secured conviction of three men for serious sexual assaults in a victimless prosecution which generated national press coverage. R v Griffiths & Others, Defending in only the second ever prosecution to be brought under the Serious and Organised Crime Act, with fifteen co-defendants. Issues concerning Human Rights. R v Smith, junior counsel in Conspiracy to cause GBH and Attempted murder. Securing the offering of no evidence at trial. Issues included PII and disclosure, section 8 applications, bad character of defendant, prosecution witnesses and non-witnesses and Special Measures. Junior Counsel in a week long Coroner’s Inquest concerning the deaths of three residents at a care home. Successful in that the deaths were not found to be attributable to the standard of care given by the care home. CPS reviewed the Coroners findings and did not proceed with corporate manslaughter charges or offences under the Mental Health Act or the Health & Safety Act. Co-Defending in a Section 18 offence. The injuries to the Complainant were life threatening, there were issues regarding causation and the defence was cut throat. Junior Defence Counsel in Conspiracy to supply Class A Drugs. Including issues of disclosure, PII and many hours of covert surveillance. One of Eight Defendants. CURRENT CASES Junior defence counsel in a conspiracy to steal case from 2001, the case concerns a multimillion pound heist of Cartier goods from an airport. The case involves substantial financial documentation and banking information. In addition, audit trails of unused material, due diligence and skeleton arguments on abuse of process fall to be dealt with by junior counsel. Junior counsel in a multi handed conspiracy concerning the keeping of brothels and prostitutes. This case also includes charges of money laundering and proceeds of crime. The case requires extensive forensic examination of financial documentation served as both used and un-used material. Defence counsel instructed in multi-handed violent disorders and affrays committed on different dates by the same gang. This case will involve substantial legal argument regarding severance and bad character. Defence counsel in a child cruelty case, concerning two significant injuries to two children. This case will involve the handling of expert evidence. PREVIOUS CAREER No previous career in law. However worked in catering as a chef for a number of years. Also in catering management. |
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4 Breams Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, EC4A 1HP