Band One Rankings for 25 Bedford Row in crime and fraud: Legal 500

25 Bedford Row has been ranked a Band One leading set in both crime and fraud in the new Legal 500 guide, launched on September 16th.   The set is now ranked across five sections: Crime, Fraud, Civil Liberties, Business and Regulatory Crime and Professional Discipline.  The guide praised the “excellent representation” and “faultless service” from 25 Bedford Row.

With ten new individual practitioner rankings this year, twelve Queen’s Counsel now appear in the ‘leading silks’ list and fifteen juniors in the ‘leading juniors’ list, which rank outstanding barristers nationwide.  The clerks were found to be “approachable, professional and reliable” with senior clerk Guy Williams “their leading ambassador”.  Deputy senior clerk Emma Makepeace is “trusted implicitly” because she “understands solicitors’ needs”.

Particular successes include George Carter Stephenson QC who retains his Band 1 ranking in Crime and Fraud and John Cooper QC, who is now listed in Crime, Fraud and Civil Liberties and Human Rights

Jeremy Dein QC & Courtenay Griffiths QC join George Carter Stephenson QC and Paul Mendelle QC in Band 1 in Crime.

Other comments that were made about members of chambers include:
Paul Mendelle QC - ‘A veteran with a glittering CV.’
George Carter-Stephenson QC – ‘His capacity to absorb detail is legendary.’
Paul Hynes QC - ‘‘A brain the size of Jupiter, without the matching ego.’ ‘One of the most cerebral QCs.’
Rudi Fortson QC - ‘A formidable advocate in the courtroom.’ ‘He has an easy manner which clients like.’
Courtenay Griffiths QC - ‘A track record of success in some of the most politically charged trials.’
Jeremy Dein QC - ‘Hardworking and committed to his clients.’
Jo Sidhu QC - ‘A keen eye for detail and a vast knowledge of the law.’
Diana Ellis QC - ‘She has excellent judgement, is unflappable under pressure, and is meticulous in her preparation of cases.’
John Cooper QC - ‘Experienced in testing the boundaries of the law.’  ‘An expert in crime-related matters.’
Nigel Sangster QC - ‘Particularly good where considerable charm is required.’
Peter Doyle QC  - ‘His immaculate preparation mines a bottomless pit of detail.’ ‘He exudes confidence.’
Tom Price QC - ‘An effective cross-examiner of witnesses.’
Ronald Jaffa - ‘A popular choice for celebrity rape defendants.’
Simon Pentol - ‘Quite capable of holding his own against both prosecution and defence silks.’
Adrian Eissa - ‘An excellent advocate.’ ‘He has a great touch with clients.’
Colin Wells - ‘Recommended for his great preparation, fast paperwork and very good mind.’
Arlette Piercy - ‘A popular gangland defence junior.’
Nathaniel Rudolf - ‘He has encyclopedic knowledge of the law and the papers in a case.’ ‘Extremely knowledgeable in respect of fraud and confiscation.’
Emma Akuwudike - ‘Incredibly good with heavyweight violent crime cases.’
Aisling Byrnes - ‘Focused with strong attention to detail.’
Dermot Keating - ‘He is incredibly hardworking and has a real eye for detail.’
Samantha Riggs - ‘Tenacious, enthusiastic and knowledgeable.’ ‘clever and conscientious, and has good client skills.’
Nicola Howard - ‘Subtle and effective in multi-handed trials.’
Ben Smitten - ‘A strong track record of murder and large drug cases.’
Michael Neofytou  - ‘Lively on his feet.’
Joanna Evans - ‘A very experienced and committed practitioner.’
Geoffrey Payne - ‘His eye for detail is amazing.’