George Wills

Barrister

George’s practice focuses on criminal defence and regulatory prosecutions.

George enjoys a wide practice solely defending in serious crime as well as dealing with regulatory and professional discipline cases on behalf of both the registrant and the regulator. He is as at home dealing with cases with high volumes of witnesses and papers as he is cases involving vulnerable defendants and/or prosecution witnesses.

Homicide and Serious Violence

George has vast experience dealing with offences involving either serious violence or homicide. He has been led by silks and senior juniors in homicide cases as well as acting alone in cases involving allegations of serious violence.

Fraud and Proceeds of Crime

George deals with large-scale frauds prosecuted by both the Crown Prosecution Services, National Trading Standards and at local authority level as well as associated Proceeds of Crime Proceedings. These have included allegations of conspiracy to defraud, fraudulent trading and money laundering. These cases have often involved a cross-jurisdictional element.

He has dealt with high value proceeds of crime proceedings and has a strong working knowledge of the relevant legislation and associated authorities.

Sexual Offences

George is frequently instructed in cases involved allegations of a sexual nature and allegations of offences against children. He has vast experience engaging intermediaries both for the Defendant and when they are instructed on behalf of a prosecution witness and has an extensive knowledge of the Advocate Gateway and associated Toolkits. He has been instructed on a number of cases involving the use of the ‘section 28’ procedure.

Serious Crime

Alongside the more specific areas detailed above he has appeared in a wide range of other cases involving allegations of serious crime including allegations of modern slavery, blackmail, kidnap and drugs offences.

Regulatory and Professional Discipline

George is experienced in a range of regulatory work, including countless cases arising out of Housing and Planning Enforcement and associated Proceeds of Crime Proceedings. He is accustomed with the Unfair Consumer Trading Regulations and breaches of Trading Standards’ regulations.

He has been involved in cases before the Nursing and Midwifery Council, Social Work England and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants dealing with anything from Interim Orders to Fitness to Practice hearings. Before the NMC he has dealt with a large number of registration appeals.

George completed a secondment followed by further instruction by the Financial Conduct Authority advising on a dual stream criminal and regulatory investigation into a firm and specific individuals accused of various breaches of AML requirements and the FCA Handbook.

Inquests and Inquiries

Instructed as Junior Counsel to the Grenfell Tower Fire Public Inquiry and adept to act on behalf of interested parties in Coronial Proceedings.

Road Traffic Offences

George deals with road traffic offences of all kinds. He has experience dealing with offences of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, causing serious injury by careless driving, dangerous driving and related regulatory offences. He has successfully argued unusual ‘special reasons’ and ‘exceptional hardship’ on a number of occasions including in the defence of a United States Air force pilot based in the UK and very high-profile clients. George accepts instructions via Direct Access.

Professional Memberships

Middle Temple Young Barristers’ Association
Criminal Bar Association
Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales
Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers

Serious Crime

R v AT - Led junior for first Defendant charged with Murder and Violent Disorder.
R v CW - Aggravated Burglary, Robbery, s.20 GBH and Possession of a Disguised Firearm.
R v LP et al - 6-handed Violent Disorder involving an off-duty Police Officer. This case involved the analysis of complex and lengthy video evidence.
R v PW - Importation of Firearms and associated Customs offences.
R v ML and another - Led Junior in child cruelty case involving allegations made by 7 children. Required careful consideration of complex family court records and third part material.
R v AL - Robbery and Blackmail. The Blackmail Charge was the subject of a successful application to dismiss. The Crown ultimately accepted a plea to simple theft and the matter resolved in a non-custodial sentence.
R v PP and another - Represented the Defendant in a production of cannabis case. Involved dealing with a referral through the National Referral Mechanism.
R v MD - Represented the Defendant in a case which led to POCA proceedings centered on Bitcoin the Defendant was alleged to have.
TSL v R - Represented the Appellant in a successful appeal from the Youth Court against a conviction for GBH on a Police Officer.
R v LS and another - Kidnap charge dismissed following successful half-time submission
R v JH an another - Led Junior in a case involving Conspiracy to Possession a Firearm and Ammunitions and Large Scale Conspiracy to Supply Class A drugs.
R v LM - Successfully secured a reduction in sentence in a case involving serious allegations of controlling and coercive behaviour, drug driving and possession of an offensive weapon.
R v SI - Represented man of good character who was charged with the theft of a high-value watch. Defendant acquitted after trial.
R v AH - Following an actus reus hearing as a result of the Defendant being found unfit the Defendant was found not to have been in possession of a bladed article.
R v CL - Represented the Defendant who was acquitted after trial of racially aggravated assault x 2 and racially aggravated criminal damage.

Sexual Offences

R v ODA - Represented a healthcare professional charged with sexual assault on a patient. The Jury found him not guilty after trial.
R v JM - Secured suspended sentence for Defendant charged with sexual communications with a child.
R v RH - Led Junior in case involving allegations of assault by penetration of a 4 year old by a 17 year old. The Crown offered no evidence following preparation of robust application to exclude the ABE evidence in the case.
R v CA - Defendant charged with Supply Class A drugs and sexual activity in the presence of a child.
R v EE - Defendant charged with rape.
R v PB - Defendant charged with sexual activity with a child.
R v BB - Defendant charged with rape.
R v LJ - Defendant charged with historic rape from the 80s.
R v GO - Defendant charged with sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder by a care-worker.
R v AC – Defendant charged with multiple sexual assaults and indecent images of children.
R v NL – Defendant charged with sexual assault, attempted sexual assault and trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence.

Road Traffic Offences

R v KP - Represented the Defendant in a complex exceptional hardship application involving multiple heads of argument. The argument was successful and the Defendant avoided disqualification.
R v GW - George successful made representations at Court to secure the dismissal of charges of speeding and failing to provide a specimen.
R v SB - Successfully defended the Defendant charged with using a mobile phone while driving.
R v THM - NG verdict recorded in respect of charge of Dangerous Driving (at a Police Officer) after prosecution persuaded to offer no evidence.
R v RW - Defendant charged with Dangerous Driving described by the Judge as “possibly the worst thing I’ve ever witnessed”.
Represented US Airforce pilot based in the UK for driving offences. Successfully argued exceptional hardship on the basis of his military duties.
Represented D charged with s172 offence. Successfully argued the notice hadn’t been properly served securing not guilty verdict for the Defendant.
Multiple cases involving causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Reported Cases

R v Rowan and others [2023] EWCA Crim 205 - Represented one of the Respondents in a prosecution appeal against a ruling under s78 PACE they deemed to be ‘terminatory' in a large scale Trading Standards prosecution alleging conspiracy to defraud and fraudulent trading.

Town and County Planning Act & HMO Cases

LBS v DB and SS – Case concerned the alleged laundering of the proceeds of fraudulent building work.
LBS v SA – Complex POCA proceedings arising out of a Town and Country Planning Act prosecution involving assets in excess of £1 million.
LBS v TH – Proceedings involving multiple charges arising out of the Housing Act, Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation Regulations and Town and County Planning Act.

Healthcare and Regulation

LBW v AE – Proceedings involving the prosecution of the Defendant under the Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations 2013 for the sale of illicit skin-lightening substances.
NMC v H - Fitness to Practice - Lack of competence case arising out of insufficient knowledge, judgement and skills to safely and effectively practice.
NMC v P - Interim Order.
NMC v A - Registration Appeal - ‘A' practiced while registration had lapsed.
NMC v B - Registration Appeal - ‘B’’s registration refused on basis of undeclared criminal convictions.
NMC v G - Registration Appeal - Failure to meet qualification requirements.
Multiple English Language Requirement Registration Appeals.

Financial Regulation

Re: TN – Appeared in an appeal to the Court of Appeal Criminal Division referred by the CCRC involving the miscalculation of the over-payment amount arising out of a criminal conviction for Benefit Fraud.
ACCA v G - failures to report suspicious activity under the Companies Act 2014 and multiple failures to cooperate with an investigation.
ACCA v H - serious deficiencies in audit work.
ACCA v M - serious deficiencies in audit work.

Trading Standards

Trading Standards v WP – Led junior in high value solar panel fraud being prosecuted by Trading Standards
Trading Standards (LBL) v SA Ltd and IT – Case concerned an Architect charged under the Unfair Consumer Trading Regulations for wrongful use of relevant accreditations from their professional bodies.
Thames Valley Police v Ors – Represented an interested party in successfully opposing the application of the Police for a Closure Order under s.136D Sexual Offence Act 2003 concerning a brothel.

Miscellaneous

Police v ML – Contested application for a closure order following allegations of violent disorder involving the wielding of a firearm at the relevant premises.

R v ST et al – Led junior for the second defendant in a high-value Trading Standards fraud. The case involved a successful s78 application following a voir dire which led to the Crown appealing under section 58 Criminal Justice Act 2003.
R v WP et al – Led junior in a large-scale Trading Standards fraud. The Crown were forced to offer no evidence after significant disclosure failings were uncovered caused in part by a ‘rogue’ officer who himself had been on trial at the Central Criminal Court for attempting to pervert the course of justice.
R v CM – Led junior representing a Defendant accused of defrauding the Police Federation of England and Wales. The trial involved calling evidence from numerous peers of the House of Lords.
R v JO – Representing the Defendant as junior alone charged with fraud on a family member. The trial is prefaced by an investigation by the Office of the Public Guardian.
R v MK et al – Led junior representing a defendant charged following an expansive Trading Standards investigation.
R v JS - The Crown offered no evidence in respect of George’s client charged with fraud after detailed representations were drafted and served on the Crown.