David Wood
  • David is a punchy and powerful advocate.

    Chambers UK 2025, Crime

  • He makes points very clearly and succinctly and is a very tactical barrister.

    Chambers UK 2025, Crime

  • He is an exceptional advocate - cerebral and strategic, with a genuine flair for advocacy.

    Legal 500 2025, Professional Disciplinary and Regulatory Law

  • David is an exemplary barrister. His ability to get to the core issues in a document heavy case is extremely impressive.

    Legal 500 2025, Crime

  • His advocacy is of a very high level and he is very good with clients and takes great care to ensure that they understand the case against them.

    Legal 500 2025, Crime

  • Very passionate and someone who fights tooth and nail for the clients.

    Chambers UK 2024, Crime

  • A highly skilled advocate who is attentive to clients' needs.

    Legal 500 2024, Professional Disciplinary and Regulatory Law

  • David is adept at navigating voluminous evidence served electronically.

    Legal 500 2024, Crime

  • He has a straightforward, easy manner combined with a cutting intellect and an ability to get to the heart of the issues of the most complex of cases quickly and efficiently.

    Legal 500 2024, Crime

  • David has a keen eye for detail and is a very capable jury advocate.

    Chambers UK 2023, Crime

  • David Wood is a well-respected junior who is often instructed in crime and regulatory matters. He has experience handling serious crime cases such as murder, theft and drug-related matters.

    Chambers UK 2023, Crime

  • David is a strong and robust advocate. His intelligence shines through in every case

    Legal 500 2023, Professional Disciplinary and Regulatory Law

  • David is a strong and robust advocate. His intelligence shines through in every case

    Legal 500 2023, Crime

  • A real rising star who can turn his hand to anything.

    Chambers UK 2022

  • David is an extremely hard-working and conscientious advocate. 

    Legal 500 2022, Crime

  • A very polished and precise advocate. He’s not just a safe pair of hands, he has laser focus and gets brilliant results.

    Legal 500 2022, Professional Disciplinary and Regulatory Law

  • His attention to detail is excellent. He has a tactical approach and he is able to consider and appreciate the wider issues of a case.

    Legal 500 2022, Crime

  • An excellent advocate who fights points in a persuasive and tenacious fashion.

    Chambers UK 2021

  • He is tenacious and compassionate in equal measure.

    Legal 500 2021, Professional Disciplinary and Regulatory Law

  • He is a rare combination of an excellent lawyer and a persuasive and attractive advocate, who also demonstrates excellent client care and is able to get along with everyone whilst always maintaining independence of position and mind. Clients appreciate his patient and considered approach.

    Legal 500 2021, Crime

  • A very bright barrister who is very tactical, very quick thinking and very approachable

    Legal 500 2020

  • Unflappable and tenacious.

    Legal 500 2020

  • He shows great initiative and gets on with it.

    Legal 500 2020

  • David is feisty, tenacious and articulate. He will fight points persuasively and is an excellent jury advocate.

    Chambers UK 2020

  • A rising star within his chambers.

    Chambers UK 2020

  • Solicitors who instruct him appreciate his tactical nous and sound advice.

  • He is able to make light of extremely paper heavy cases.

  • A very bright junior with outstanding commitment to his cases.

  • He is tenacious and compassionate in equal measure.

Called 2007

David Wood

"He excels more senior counsel in capability, and is pleasant and professional too." "Highly capable, tenacious, and at ease with clients and on his feet."

David is a specialist criminal defence barrister. He is an expert in defending serious criminal allegations including murder, firearm possession, grievous bodily harm, rape/serious sexual offences, and Class A drug dealing.

Both Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500 rank David as one of the UK’s best junior barristers. Professional feedback in those directories consistently describes him as an excellent jury advocate, persuasive, tenacious, tactical, hard-working and approachable.

Many of David’s cases over the years have involved allegations of organised international criminal activity with a high media profile (examples where he was junior counsel include: Russell Wadge cleared over chemical explosives haul - BBC News, Gary Hyde arms deal trial collapses - BBC News, Crime boss Thomas Kavanagh set up gun plot to dupe police - BBC News).

Alongside his criminal practice, David also defends in professional discipline and regulatory law (for example before the General Medical Council, Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, and in Police misconduct proceedings). Additionally, he acts in inquests and public inquiries – most notably as junior Counsel to two core participants in the Manchester Arena Inquiry in 2021.

David is a Governing Bencher of the Inner Temple (Masters of the Bench The Inner Temple) and a member of its Advocacy Training Committee – regularly teaching advocacy to younger barristers. He is a former Secretary of the Criminal Bar Association and played a significant role in the development and delivery of the inaugural Bar Council Leadership Programme.

In 2022, David was made a Recorder of the Crown Court.

You can find out more about David here:

You can watch some of David’s cross-examination in the Manchester Arena Inquiry here:

David can accept instructions on a Direct Public Access basis.

Appointments

  • Recorder, Northern Circuit (2022)

Publications

  • The Law of Public Order and Protest, 2010, OUP (Research credit)

Professional Memberships

  • Criminal Bar Association
  • South Eastern Circuit
  • Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers (ARDL)
  • Lawyers for Liberty
  • Release
  • Fraud Lawyers Association

Education, Scholarships and Awards

  • MA (Oxon) (Worcester College, Oxford)
  • Diploma in Law (BPP Manchester)
  • Bar Vocational Course (BPP London)
  • Winner, BPP London Mooting Competition 2007
  • Peta Fordham prize