Samantha Riggs
  • She is knowledgeable, creative and a great advocate.

    Chambers UK 2025, Environment

  • Samantha is on-hand to give us expert assistance and tries to get us to where we want to be.

    Chambers UK 2025, Environment

  • She has such a nice calming manner with clients.

    Chambers UK 2025, Financial Crime

  • Samantha looks at every bit of the law and leaves no stone unturned.

    Chambers UK 2025, Financial Crime

  • She is knowledgeable, creative and a great advocate.

    Chambers UK 2025, Environment

  • Samantha is very on the ball and her attention to detail is second to none.

    Chambers UK 2025, Environment

  • Samantha is one of the best barristers in her field. She is extremely knowledgeable and thorough in all aspects of cases.

    Legal 500 2025, Fraud: Crime

  • Samantha has a detailed understanding of environmental law so is well placed to advise. She also prepares thoroughly and so comes up with all the points you need to help your position. 

    Lwgal 500 2025, Business and Regulatory Crime (inc. Global Investigations)

  • She is a great advocate and is adept at exposing the other side where appropriate.

    Lwgal 500 2025, Business and Regulatory Crime (inc. Global Investigations)

  • She leaves no stone unturned, knows the space inside out and gets to know all of the technical side of things, which really benefits her practice.

    Chambers UK 2024, Financial Crime

  • She is knowledgeable, tenacious and is willing to research everything to the nth degree.

    Chambers UK 2024, Financial Crime

  • She's great with clients.

    Chambers UK 2024, Environment

  • She's fearsome and someone the environment agency fears because she knows her stuff inside out.

    Chambers UK 2024, Environment

  • Samantha is my go-to for anything waste-related.

    Chambers UK 2024, Environment

  • Samantha is fantastic.

    Legal 500 2024, Environment

  • She is incredible on the details and formidable in court. 

    Legal 500 2024, Environment

  • Brilliant with clients.

    Legal 500 2024, Environment

  • Samantha is great at finding an angle and is very good with clients.

    Legal 500 2024, Fraud: Crime

  • She is tenacious and has a cool, calm demeanour when on her feet.

    Legal 500 2024, Fraud: Crime

  • The most formidable defence lawyer in environmental work.

    Chambers UK 2023, Environment

  • A passionate advocate and a fearsome opponent whose knowledge of the law in this area is second to none.

    Legal 500 2023, Environment

  • The go-to barrister for environmental crime.

    Legal 500 2023, Environment

  • Samantha brings excellent client care and analysis skill as well as top-notch advocacy in court.

    Legal 500 2023, Crime: Fraud

  • Samantha is technically very good, supportive, and she will always go the extra mile and has real empathy with clients.

    Chambers UK 2022

  • She is excellent technically and very good with clients. She will always go the extra mile and has real empathy with clients so she's able to build up that personal relationship.

    Chambers UK 2022

  • She prepares every case in enormous detail and has extensive knowledge of case law in this area.

    Legal 500 2022, Fraud Crime 

  • Her knowledge in this area is second to none and she is a courageous advocate who will go the extra mile to argue the client's case.

    Legal 500 2022, Environmental 

  • She is very hard-working and intelligent. Her attention to detail is brilliant. 

    Chambers UK 2021

  • Clients value her practical and commercial advice, and fearless defence skills. She is persistent and tenacious in defending cases. 

    Chambers UK 2021

  • Samantha works tirelessly for each client, leaving no stone unturned. She has incisive analysis skills, persuasive presentation as an advocate and very effective cross-examination skills.

    Chambers UK 2021

  • A superb criminal defence barrister with a deep technical understanding of the waste industry.

    Legal 500 2021, Environment

  • The leading - and best - junior in this area of practice. 

    Legal 500 2021, Environment

  • SA fighter who works like a Trojan. Sam is a brilliant barrister, had amazing attention to detail, pick a hole in most cases and is not scared to run a legal argument. Her results are top notch, advocacy excellent and she is great with clients.

    Legal 500 2021, Fraud

  • She leaves no stone unturned in her efforts to present the best possible case for her clients.

    Legal 500 2020

  • A wonderful barrister who is at the top of her field and has knowledge that is second to none.

    Legal 500 2020

  • A fighter who is very good at complicated financial cases.

    Chambers UK 2020

  • She is very approachable and down to earth and speaks to clients in their language.

    Legal 500

  • She has that rare combination of being technically highly skilled and forensic in her attention to detail.  She's also utterly brilliant with clients.

    Legal 500

  • Always someone you can have a meaningful conversation with about a case.

    Legal 500

  • Has a forensic attention to detail.

    Legal 500

  • Noted for defending individuals and companies in complex regulatory and corporate crime.

    Legal 500

  • A great tactical player in court, and superb with clients.

    Chambers UK

  • Very good and very tough.

    Legal 500

  • A fierce and fearless barrister whom it is good to have on your side.

    Chambers UK

  • A fine forensic mind.

    Legal 500

  • Tenacious, enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Clever and conscientious, and has good client skills.

    Legal 500

  • A highly respected junior with over 15 years' experience of practising in the financial crime sector.

    Chambers UK

  • Very smart.

    Legal 500

  • Knowledgeable and can simplify things in a manner a client understands.

    Chambers UK

  • She is extremely tenacious, incredibly hard-working and someone who invests enormous effort and attention to detail in each case she fights. She is fierce in her cross-examination and passionate in her defence of clients.

    Chambers UK

  • Has knowledge beyond almost everyone else in her area, and shows a willingness to fight hard for the client's case.

    Chambers UK

  • Thorough and well prepared with excellent client care and communication skills.

    Legal 500

  • A brave and clever advocate.

    Legal 500

Called 1996

Samantha Riggs

Barrister

Established and well regarded leading junior advising and defending corporate and individual defendants in complex fraud and regulatory investigations and prosecutions with extensive experience in environmental crime with particular expertise in waste management/environmental permitting and statutory nuisance.

Sam often advises pre-interview/pre-charge, is accustomed to taking a pro-active approach at the outset of proceedings and is skilled in taking pre-trial challenges including legality of search warrants, abuse of process arguments and interpretation of the Environmental Permitting Regulations. Methodical in the preparation of cases with an eye for detail and skilled in disclosure.

 She is extremely dedicated and hard-working. She hates to lose an argument and puts clients at ease. Chambers UK

Experienced in restraint, confiscation and enforcement receivership acting on behalf of defendants and interested third parties.Civil background and experienced in appeals in the VAT Tribunal and before PINs and civil enforcement by the Environment Agency in the High Court. Other regulatory work includes health and safely, food safety, trading standards. Experienced in judicial review.

Listed in Chambers UK 2025 in Band 1 for Environmental and Band 3 for Financial Crime. According to Chambers UK, Samantha is "knowledgeable and can simplify things in a manner a client understands".

Listed in the Legal 500 as a leader in Fraud: Crime and Business and Regulatory Crime (including Global Investigations). The Legal 500 reviews Samantha as "very smart".

Professional Memberships

  • Criminal Bar Association
  • Female Fraud Forum
  • Fraud Lawyers Association
  • Proceeds of Crime Lawyers Association (POCLA)
  • Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers (ARDL)
  • United Kingdom Environmental Law Association (UKELA) 
  • Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM)
  • Private Prosecutors’ Association