Dermot Keating

Barrister

Acts as leading or junior counsel specialising in serious, complex and sensitive cases.

He has a beautiful advocacy style and carefully prepares his arguments

Principal areas of practice are:

Fraud, money laundering, confiscation and restraint proceedings.
Trading standards
Serious Crime: including Homicide, multi-handed drug importation cases, firearm and kidnap cases.
Sexual offences: extensive experience of cases involving young and vulnerable complainants and defendants.
Extensive appellant court experience.

Articles

"Maintaining Standards" New Law Journal 27 July 2012
“An Orderly House?” Criminal Law & Justice Weekly Vol. 176

Associated Work

Regularly lectures externally and internally on areas relating to disclosure, fraud and sentencing.
Regulary contributes to a number of working groups on behalf of the Bar Council, CBA and SEC including:
Bar Council Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill (LASPO) (2011-12)
CBA response to the Burglary SC guidelines
CBA response to the consultation on “breaking the cycle” 2011 http://www.criminalbar.com/86/records/455/Breaking the Cycle CBA Response.pdf
Joint Bar Council/CBA working group which responded to defence witness code and regulations http://www.criminalbar.com/86/records/280/Bar Council CBA Response to Defence Witness Code Consultation.pdf
SEC response on proposed regulatory changes by BSB and JAG consultation on QAA http://www.southeastcircuit.org.uk/committee/working-party-reports.
CBA response to the Law Commission’s 2009 Consultation paper on Expert evidence in Criminal Cases.
Member of Inner Temple advocacy training and trains external pupils and junior practitioners.
Pupil Supervisor

Professional Memberships

Secretary of Criminal Bar Association (2012-2014 )
Committee member of Criminal Bar Association (2009-2015)
Committee member of South Eastern Circuit (2009-2012)
Inner Temple advocacy and ethics trainer (2010 - present)
Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers (ARDL)

Education

LLB (Hons) Brunel University

Appointments

First Tier Tribunal Judge (Social Entitlement Chamber) (2013-present)
Chair of the Fitness to Practice Panel, Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (2013-present)
Legal Advisor, General Pharmaceutical Council (GPHC) (2018-present)

Public Inquiries

Grenfell Inquiry: Dermot is appointed as counsel to the Inquiry and leads the “aftermath” team. This involves a consideration of the actions of the TMO, local and central government in the immediate aftermath of the Grenfell fire, against the regulatory framework including the Civil Contingencies Act and Regulations.

Trading Standards and Consumer Protection Regulations

Telford v W: Instructed to advise and represent company and director, in relation to allegations of fraudulent trading. Allegations focus on interpretation of the Consumer Contract Regulations 2013
R v Sersen: instructed as leading counsel in reputedly the largest National Trading Standards prosecution. Fraud and CPUTR regulatory offences for over 300 complainants. Trial spanned six months. Represented first defendant and acquitted of Fraud offences. Successfully argued in subsequent confiscation proceedings that £9m benefit figure incorrect and unfair. Benefit figure agreed at £450k.
Hertfordshire County Council v Mark Tatham - Leading counsel acting for a businessman in a trading standards prosecution pursuant to the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. Complex and voluminous investigation involving multiple complainants. Secured pleas to regulatory offences alone and the defendant received a suspended prison sentence.The case features in 2012 series of the Channel 5 programme “Cowboy Builders”.
Westminster CC v WOW Represented Company facing prosecution and a deprivation order under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Successfully opposed deprivation of signage valued at £150k and reduced costs the prosecution authority sought by £40k.

Professional Disciplinary

Dermot has an interest in Healthcare Regulation that is completed by his work in criminal proceedings and sitting as a First Tier Tribunal Judge. He has experience of cases that cross into the criminal sphere, having represented doctors, dentists, accountants and other professionals. He has previously led one of the first prosecutions of two pharmacists under the Health Act 2006 including Misuse of Drugs Regulations
He has been appointed to a second term as Chair of the Fitness to Practice Committee at the Nursing Midwifery Committee (NMC). He has sat on a wide spectrum of cases. These include case management meetings, interim orders, substantive hearings, substantive order reviews and restoration hearings
He is appointed as a Legal Advisor, General Pharmaceutical Council (GPHC). He advises lay panels for both Investigatory and Fitness to Practice committees on law and procedure.
He has represented doctors before the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS).
He has presented cases before the General Dentist Council (GDC).

R. v. Baxhija & Papalexis: Homicide. High profile cold case murder where defendant Baxhija was arrested 10 years after the offence. Case spanned seven months and two trials at the Central Criminal Court. Notably for the cut-throat defence between the defendant (an illegal immigrant) and his co-defendant and employer Papalexis –‘a millionaire’. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/6132765/Thanos-Papalexis-guilty-of-murdering-caretaker.html
R. v. Baptiste: Homicide. Successfully represented a defendant charged with the stabbing of 14 year old school boy. This was a catalyst for the ‘war on knife crime’ media campaign.
R. v. Campbell: Leading case on minimum sentences for firearm offences. This identified a lacuna in the law in relation to offenders aged 18-20. Proceeded by a media campaign on sentences for firearm offences and the subsequent change in the law.
R. v. Cormack: “Operation Manola”: successfully defended the first defendant in this multi handed large drug importation case.
R. v. Muturi: “Operation Fronton”, defended one of the three primary suspects in this multi handed kidnap case investigated by New Scotland Yard Kidnap Unit.
R. v. Virgo: “Operation Dearwood”. Defended in multi handed drug importation case that involved drugs been transported to this country via commercial transporters.

Reported Cases

R. v Allaraj [2012] EWCA Crim 986 –sentence reduced in immigration case
R. v. Gu [2012] EWCA Crim 133, [2012] 2 Archbold Review 2,-appeal against conviction allowed for ancient common law offence of running a disorderly house.
R. v. McMahon [2012] EWCA Crim 210- appeal involving interpretation of the dangerousness provisions in light of the recent Supreme Court case of Smith
R. v. McIntosh and Marsden [2011] EWCA Crim 1501- leading case on treatment of hidden assets in confiscation proceedings.
R. v. Crombie [2011] EWCA Crim 1404-successful appeal on sentence on grounds of age and ill health
R. v. Barnard [2011] EWCA Crim 1906 –appeal against sentence for an appellant who used his finger as a fake weapon for multiple ‘armed’ robberies.
R. v. Brooks [2009] EWCA Crim 367 –successful argued for IPP sentence to be quashed and replaced with determinative sentence.
R. v. Campbell [2006] EWCA Crim 726- Leading case on minimum sentences for firearm offences. This identified a lacuna in the law in relation to offenders aged 18-20. Proceeded by a media campaign on sentences for firearm offences and the subsequent change in the law.
R. v. Wolin [2005] EWCA Crim 3066-drugs sentence reduced from initial 12 years at Crown Court to five years on appeal.

R. v. Gold –defending one of the principal defendants in large scale and complex carbon credit fraud.
Cumbria CC v. Wilson–Leading counsel in an on-going trading standards prosecution arising from a recycling fraud.
R. v. Tatham - Leading counsel defending company director charged with fraud and regulatory offences.
R. v. Godley – SFO prosecution. Represented the CEO of major UK company in international ‘Ponzi’ fraud.
R. v. Farnesi – large multi-handed case concerning an international letter of credit fraud, with a background of prior SFO investigations, insolvency proceedings and director disqualifications. Case stayed as an abuse of proceedings 12 weeks into the trial.
R. v. Wood –Leading counsel in multiple defendant trading standards prosecution.

Proceeds of Crime Act

R. v. Williams –Defending principal defendant in on-going £24m confiscation proceedings.
R. v. Davies –Represented defendant who was said to have managed a number of brothels in complex confiscation proceedings. Final benefit and realisable figure reduced substantially after submissions.
R.v. Godley-confiscation proceedings arising out of SFO prosecution with corporate, international and trust aspects.
R. v. Aitken – Conspiracy to money launder. Multi-defendant cases involving attempted multi-million fraud from financial institutions. Successfully represented the defendant in confiscation proceedings.