Paul Mendelle QC

Head of Chambers

Paul Mendelle QC had a mixed civil and criminal practice for many years but nowadays practises exclusively in defence work, specialising in the most serious criminal offences: murder, armed robbery, and multiple rape, drug trafficking, corruption, fraud and money laundering extensive experience of appellate proceedings.

He is a very persuasive advocate, who is tactically smart. - Chambers UK

Mr Mendelle has built a reputation of excellence and regulatory expertise from the foundations of his well-established criminal and fraud practice and is experienced in representing professional and corporate defendants charged with regulatory offences.

He has been an active committee member of the CBA for many years and succeeded to the Chairmanship in September 2009 after his year as Vice Chairman.

Significant involvement in CBA and Bar Council working parties and has engaged in negotiations with the Legal Services Commission and Ministry of Justice on behalf of the Criminal Bar.

Joint Head of Chambers since 2014. Qualified to accept Direct Access Work.

Articles & Publications

Many CBA working party reports, including those on disclosure in Customs prosecutions, the attendance of witnesses, the regulation of forensic science and sentencing guidelines in death by driving cases.

Associate Work

Criminal Bar Association Vice Chairman and Chairman.
Speaker on Pre-recorded questioning of vulnerable witnesses at LCCSA European Conference 2014, Alicante, Spain.

Professional Memberships

Proceeds of Crime Lawyers Association (POCLA)
Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers (ARDL)
Fraud Lawyers Association (FLA)
Financial Services Lawyers Association (FSLA)
Member of the Criminal Bar Association
Member of the South Eastern Circuit

Recent Testimonials

"His gravitas in court is something to behold." Chambers UK 2022
Paul is one of the most distinguished practitioners at the Criminal Bar. He is honest, forensically thorough and supremely articulate — no client could hope or find better. Amongst his many strengths and qualities are his highly accomplished advocacy, the extremely high standard of his written submissions and his expert legal knowledge. He is a powerful presence in court and brings great authority to bear with real courtesy and charm. ’ Legal 500 Crime 2022
He is very meticulous and forensic in his approach and has huge gravitas in court. Chambers UK 2021
Very smooth as an advocate and immensely experienced, he has a very soothing manner with the jury. Chambers UK 2021
A precise, authoritative silk who is great with difficult clients. Legal 500 2021
One of the silkiest, smoothest advocates in the profession. Legal 500 2020
Legally, he's like a lecturer on law – so precise and incisive. No words are wasted when he talks. Quick on his feet and tactically astute, he's an exceptional defence advocate. Chambers UK 2020
A personable, effective communicator" who "when instructed in a case gives one hundred per cent." Chambers UK 2020
A first-class cross examiner equally able to calm, bludgeon or subtly undermine witnesses as required. Legal 500 2018
Very canny and extremely focused on the needs of his clients. Chambers UK
An extremely astute and strategic operator. Chambers UK
Fearlessly defends his clients. Chambers UK
He's very smooth and assured in court. Chambers UK
Fabulous advocate. Legal 500
A gent who has a very good mind. Chambers UK
Hard working and client-friendly. Legal 50
Assured and sure-footed. Chambers UK
A very reliable performer who has good judgement. Chambers UK
He is a formidable cross-examiner and his legal submissions are measured, succinct and very persuasive. Legal 500

Homicide

R v DS– Acquitted of the murder and attempted murder of two men during the course of the attempted burglary of a cannabis grow in Southend.
R v TW - charged with the attempted murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life of a man who had been acquitted five years before of murdering a friend of theirs.
R v JR – Murder, fatal stabbing in a fight after the victim had stolen two bottles of alcohol from the defendant.
R v JD – Murder, fatal stabbing in the course of a fight.
R v SE – 81 year old defendant charged with murder following the death in 2017 of a man he had been convicted of wounding with intent 14 years before. The defendant pleaded to manslaughter on the basis of provocation.
R v ES - Murder concerning the shooting a rival drug dealer in the centre of Northampton, over a £40 drug debt. The dispute also was suggested to have concerned the victims attempt over the victim’s drug territory. A wrestled resulted in the gun going off. Involved close analysis of the relationship between the CCTV and the expert ballistics evidence.
R v AP – representing young women charged with the manslaughter of the 11 month old baby she was looking after for a friend. The baby had died from irreversible brain damage from a subdural haemorrhage. Case involved detailed expert evidence from two ophthalmic pathologists, two neuro-pathologists, a histo-pathologist, a forensic pathologist and a paediatric neuro-surgeon.
R v NN– Murder, gang related shooting a rival gang member.
R v TP – representing the first of four defendants accused of murdering a drug addict in a class A county lines drug supply case. Fiercely fought cut-throat case. 14 week trial.
R v RC- 29 year-old defendant of good character charged with murder by striking the victim multiple blows to the head with a metal bike lock. Acquitted of both murder and manslaughter. The deceased was a Czech national and the verdicts caused diplomatic issues.
R v MA – Concerning the importation and supply of firearms. Case consisted of international covert surveillance and extensive cell site and telephone evidence. A mark of the gravity of the offending is that a life sentence was applied.
R v EB – Murder by stabbing in an alleged revenge attack for an incident involving the defendant’s sister at a party.
R v AJ -Acquitted of the murder, alleged to have been part of a group of four who fatally killed the victim in a planned attack, the defendant having driven to the scene in his own car. Volatile client, requiring sensitive approach and a high level of client care.
R v AA - Defendant charged with murder, unanimously acquitted of both murder and manslaughter. The defendant had stabbed the deceased in self-defence after robbing him of cannabis at knife-point.
R v AP - Acquitted of murder. The defendant and the co-defendant were accused of murdering the deceased while attempting to rob him of his car. Acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter.
R v HJ - Unanimously acquitted of one count of possession of a pipe bomb with intent to endanger life or cause serious damage to property contrary to s. 3(1)(b) Explosive Substances Act. The defendant told her occupation therapist about the bomb the day after finding it in her flat, it had been made by her ex-boyfriend about two years earlier. Convicted of simple possession on the basis she had never reported it to the authorities.
R v Perry & Others - Fatal shooting by a gang outside a snooker club in West Norwood, accused of another shooting a month later outside a nightclub in Smithfield Market
R v Lewis & Others - Gangland revenge shooting outside a take-away restaurant in Harrow Road. The victim was mistaken for a member of a rival gang who had murdered the brother of the alleged gunman.
R v G - Defendant alleged to have shot and stabbed the victim in his home in North London over £250,000 debt said to have been owed to the deceased, a Kosovan national engaged with others in multi-million pound thefts of money from parking meters.
R v R - Case awaiting trial at the Central Criminal Court, 19 counts of serious sexual assaults, including Rape of five separate victims.
R v C - Client alleged to have brutally murdered with an axe, found embedded in the head of the victim in a pub car park in March 1987. The case is complicated by allegations of involvement, corruption and incompetence by the Metropolitan Police. The victim’s family have fought for a public enquiry for over twenty years. The arrest of our defendant was based on the evidence of a “Supergrass”.
R v Barzey & Others - Defendant charged with murder, attempted murder and violent disorder along with 11 others following a juvenile street battle in Hackney. Cut throat defences.
R v Connelly & Others - Acted for the mother of “Baby P “ in separate murder and cruelty trials.
R v Ikram & Another - Father, accused of murdering or causing/allowing death of young son said to have died as the result of the actions of one and the failure of the other parent to prevent the death. The complexity of the legal issues at trial and in sentencing are demonstrated by the appeals; [2008] Cr. App. R. 24; [2008] 2 Cr. App. R. (S.) 114
R v Fitzgerald & Others - One of three brothers accused of the brutal murder of a father of four in which he was stabbed to death by a vigilante mob. The gang launched a commando-style revenge raid on his home after wrongly believing he was responsible for an assault on one of them up a few hours earlier.
R v Gordon - Acted for main defendant in a high profile shooting outside of a nightclub in Hackney who claimed he shot victim in self-defence.
R v Baptiste - Fatal stabbing 14 year old Martin Dinnegan by a gang of youths in North London. Case attracted extensive media attention
R v Tucker & Others - High profile shooting of a young father in Canning Town in 2006 after failure of police to arrest perpetrators of knife assault earlier that year.
R v Regan & Others - (The Chohan Family Murders) - Acted for the main defendant accused of murdering five members of the same family to gain control of business, burying their bodies before later exhuming and dumping them at sea to avoid detection. The Old Bailey’s longest-ever murder trial, lasting 9 months, later the subject of a Channel 4 documentary.
R v O & Others - Acted for main defendant in serious case of drugs trafficking, supply of firearms, money laundering and perverting the course of justice. One of the first cases involving SOCPA agreement.
R v Nduka & Others - Well-organised gang who targeted sex workers in West London, torturing and robbing them before murdering their last victim.
R v Hooper & Others - £100 million conspiracy to import/supply cannabis & cocaine. First ever trial involving super-grass evidence from Michael Michaels. 2 week abuse of process argument on entrapment involving detailed cross-examination of senior police officers.
R v Russell & Others - Acted for one of principal defendants in police corruption case, one of first in which Special Counsel were assigned on behalf of the defendant to make submissions on PII material.
R v R - Multiple rapes of elderly women committed by man dubbed “Southwark Rapist”, trial based wholly on three different types of DNA evidence.
R v Kunowski - Polish serial sex offender who murdered 12 year-old girl in her home in West London. The defendant was traced through DNA on a single hair and tried seven years after the offence.
R v Danila & Others - Acted for leading member of Romanian gang who chased rival gang victim into the back of an ambulance in North London and beat him to death.
R v Ryan & Others - Acted for killer in three-handed contract murder who confessed to his ex-girlfriend. Shotgun found pursuant to confession shown not to be weapon by defence expert scientific evidence relating to corrosion rate for steel barrel and decay of wooden stock.
R v Gary Roper - Single-punch manslaughter trial.
R v Amar Hussain - Multi handed murder between rival gangs.
R v Khan & Another - Acted for one of two brothers accused of murder by plunging screwdriver into temple of victim.
R v Ross - Serious assault by shoplifter blinded Asian shopkeeper who received nationwide press and television publicity as 'have a go’ hero.

Terrorism

R v Muhid - Solicitation to murder charges arising out of Muslim protests against Danish cartoons.

Appellate practice includes

Maxine Benson v R [2017] EWCA Crim 120 – The appellant was convicted of murder and sentenced to minimum term of 23 years and 6 months. Successfully appealed the minimum term which the Court of Appeal reduced to 20 years. The Court of Appeal stated an important matter of statutory construction.
R v Elliott (murder)
R v Croad (homosexual rapes)
R v Potamitis (fraud)
R v Muhid (terrorism)
R v Ikram (causing/allowing death of child)

Fraud and Financial Regulation

R v RK - Acquitted of fraudulently obtaining Bitcoins to the value of £1.4 million from dozens of clients of the defendant’s crypto-currency exchange. The prosecution was the first of its kind in the UK and involved complex computer and cryptographic expert evidence, as well as evidence from several international jurisdictions. The defence secured the expert services of one of the foremost crypto-currency academics in the world, after which the prosecution offered no evidence.
R v D'Albertson - Multi-national Boiler room fraud with an escrow company based in the UK issuing shares to investors, alleged to have defrauded investors of £4 million over 2 years.
R v Marsden & Others - Multi-million-pound carousel VAT fraud involving telephones and computer chips, defendant’s role being both buffer company and money launderer.
R v Thorne & Others - Alcohol diversion fraud causing loss to the exchequer of £4million.
R v Fela Omi & Others - Housing benefit and social security fraud involving false identities and counterfeit documents.
R v Selfe & Others - £50 million cigarette diversion fraud involving the importation of cigarettes alleged to be concealed in genuine loads carried by defendant’s legitimate road haulage business.

Proceeds of Crime Act

R v Axelsen & Another - Money laundering/tax evasion trial of proceeds of Jubilee Line Fraud. Intended to be the 2nd trial before that case collapsed.
R v Tascon & Others - Multi-million pound money laundering case for one of the largest-ever South American Cocaine importation conspiracies involving covert and intrusive surveillance.
R v Davies & Others - Money-laundering case for main defendant who claimed the £18 million exported in cash was his proceeds of gambling on horses.
R v Ersoy - International money laundering of drug proceeds between South America, Spain, the Far East and Switzerland.
R v Finn - Confiscation hearing for Heathrow baggage handler convicted of large-scale drug importation conspiracy.

Professional Disciplinary and Regulatory

Re: Mohammed Amir v Pakistani Cricket Board -
The British Horse Racing Association v Darren May & Others - Successfully defended against allegations of race fixing and associated betting scams.
Serious Fraud Office v D & Others - Breaches of Section 19 and 20 of the Financial Services and Markets Act resulting in multi million pound client losses.