Michael Neofytou
  • Michael is a beacon of the junior bar and stands head and shoulders above most barristers, including many silks.

    Legal 500 2025, Crime

  • Michael is very impressive, and an experienced and polished performer.

    Chambers UK 2025, Crime

  • Michael is a charming jury advocate and his written work is first-class.

    Chambers UK 2025, Crime

  • He always ensures that he is well prepared and will go the extra mile when providing services to clients.

    Chambers UK 2025, Crime

  • His tactical judgment is superb.

    Legal 500 2025, Crime

  • He knows every case inside and out and this, together with his charisma and charm, means that he is a persuasive and compelling advocate.

    Legal 500 2025, Crime

  • Michael sits at the very top of the tree of those who defend in serious criminal cases.

    Legal 500 2025, Crime

  • He's very approachable, naturally persuasive and pretty tough underneath it all.

    Chambers UK 2024, Crime

  • Michael is very comfortable with the judge and jury. 

    Chambers UK 2024, Crime

  • Michael is an exceptional advocate and a silk in the making.

    Legal 500 2024, Crime

  • Juries love his calm and reassuring style and he knows all the facts of a case, down to the smallest details buried in phone data.

    Legal 500 2024, Crime

  • Exudes charisma and has an excellent bedside manner with clients from all walks of life.

    Chambers UK 2023, Crime

  •  Accomplished junior Michael Neofytou is regularly instructed to defend complex gang-related murder and drugs cases. He routinely acts as leading junior in serious criminal trials.

    Chambers UK 2023, Crime

  • Michael is a confident and powerful advocate, with a keen eye for detail.

    Legal 500 2023, Crime

  • An impressive barrister who gives sensible advice and is well liked by juries.

    Chambers UK 2022

  • Michael has a very good manner with clients and always is very well prepared.

    Legal 500 2022, Crime 

  • He is able to work well under pressure and is very efficient and is contactable when an issue arises on a case. He is not fazed by anything that arises at the last minute.

    Legal 500 2022, Crime 

  • Very good with clients, he's charming and has shrewd judgement.

    Chambers UK 2021

  • Produces beautifully pitched closing speeches and deploys his points brilliantly. 

    Chambers UK 2021

  • A superb advocate who is always thinking one step ahead; a silk in the making.

    Legal 500 2021

  • He is very bright and hard working. As a solicitor, he is a pleasure to work with. He is very attentive to a solicitor's needs and responds in detail to case papers and instructions immediately after he is sent them.

    Legal 500 2021

  • A big personality – judges and juries like him.

    Legal 500 2019

  • He is led by leading silks in murder cases.

    Legal 500 2018

  • A diligent, conscientious barrister, who prepares his cases meticulously.

    Legal 500 2017

  • Very user-friendly; he gets matters dealt with quickly.

    Legal 500 2016

  • Lively on his feet.

    Legal 500 2015

  • A shining star in the ascendancy.

    Legal 500 2011

Called 1999

Michael Neofytou

Barrister

Awarded Crime and Extradition Junior of the Year in the Legal 500 UK Bar Awards 2022.

Michael is a leading specialist criminal defence advocate and adviser with 23 years’ experience of representing defendants in high-level serious and complex crime, with particular experience in homicide, complex fraud and large-scale drug supply cases. He appears in some of the largest and most serious cases in the UK. He was awarded Legal 500 Crime barrister of the year, 2022.

Graduating from Liverpool JMU in 1998, he has since practised in London, but is prepared to travel in particular cases. Throughout 2017 and 2018, he led for the Defence in the longest trial in the history of Liverpool Crown Court. The case subsequently changed the law on the test of dishonesty in the criminal context (R v Barton).

He is known for his excellent preparation and extensive experience, particularly in murder cases and the complex issues and areas of evidence that they often involve.

Michael has an impressive practice exclusively in criminal defence. He is ranked in Tier 1 of the Legal 500 as a leading barrister. In the 2025 edition, Michael is noted as "a beacon of the junior bar" who "stands head and shoulders above most barristers, including many silks". In the 2023 edition, the leading directory notes that he is a “confident and powerful advocate, with a keen eye for detail”. The 2022 edition remarks that "Michael has a very good manner with clients and always is very well prepared. He is able to work well under pressure and is very efficient and is contactable when an issue arises on a case. He is not fazed by anything that arises at the last minute."  The 2021 edition of described him as  A superb advocate who is always thinking one step ahead; a silk in the making. He is very bright and hard working. As a solicitor, he is a pleasure to work with. He is very attentive to a solicitor’s needs and responds in detail to case papers and instructions immediately after he is sent them. The 2020 edition described him as “A big personality-judges and juries like him”. The 2022 edition of the legal publication Chambers, wrote that Michael is "An impressive barrister who gives sensible advice and is well liked by juries." The 2021 edition quoted that he "Produces beautifully pitched closing speeches - he always has the ammunition and deploys his points brilliantly." They went on to quote that he is "Very good with clients, he's charming and has shrewd judgement." Michael is known for his straightforward and client friendly approach. Previous editions of the Legal 500 described him as a “a shining star in the ascendancy” (Legal 500 2011), “well-regarded” (Legal 500 2014), "lively on his feet" (Legal 500 2015), Very user-friendly; he gets matters dealt with quickly” (Legal 500 2016) and "A diligent, conscientious barrister, who prepares his cases meticulously" (2017).

Michael regularly represents those in the public eye, particularly those in the field of sports, media and the Arts and many of these cases attract a high level of media interest. He is well versed in the reputational management of all of his clients.

He accepts instructions on both a private and legally aided basis and in limited cases will consider direct access from members of the public.

Michael is a registered Advocacy Trainer for the Inner Temple, and is also a mentor for the Inner Temple. Further, Michael is a registered Pupil Supervisor.

Michael is a member of Chambers' Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Memberships

  • Criminal Bar Association
  • Association of Regulatory & Disciplinary Lawyers (ARDL)
  • The Fraud Lawyers Association (FLA)
  • British Association of Sports Lawyers (BASL)
  • Proceeds of Crime Lawyers Association (POCLA)

mneofytou@25bedfordrow.com