Sheryl Nwosu

Barrister

Sheryl Nwosu is an astute lawyer and brilliant trial advocate who is routinely instructed as leading counsel, sole counsel, and led junior invariably in cases of complexity and seriousness; she has considerable experience in cases of homicide and serious violence, fraud offences, large scale drugs conspiracies, as well as serious sexual offences.

She has extensive expertise in defending young people charged with the most serious offences and is well known for considering and directing procedural and trial tactics at the very earliest point of her instruction.

Her strengths as an advocate lie not only in the measured but persuasive presentation of her cases in court, but also her meticulous scrutiny and application of the law and evidence leading to well-timed successful legal arguments.

As a lawyer, Sheryl is known to provide instructive and decisive advice on all legal matters to her professional clients; her wide interest in various other areas of law and developments within the law means she is often called upon for opinion or direction outside of matters relating to criminal law or where criminal law intersects with other areas of practice. Sheryl’s legal acumen and ability to interpret and advise on law and legal concepts has led to her provision of advice to individuals in the field of entertainment, and more recently on privacy and online conduct in this new digital age.

Sheryl is available for Private and Direct Access instruction.

Associated Work

Another area of Sheryl’s legal practice relates to contractual advisory work within the industries of music and visual entertainment – this includes advising on contracts and intellectual property exploitation and copyright issues and more recently social media use and the law.
In an era where lawyers are now being called upon to provide a more personal service to clients, Sheryl finds herself providing holistic advice for those clients in these industry areas who do approach her, and, drawing upon her network of people in connected industries, she has fostered long standing relationships with a wide array of clients who benefit from her presence bringing consistency in their representation and affairs.
Sheryl holds an LL.M Masters in the area of Entertainment Law sought whilst in practice at the Bar and following her own interests in the academic analysis of the business and commercial/legal/contractual issues which underpin the sports and entertainment industries and now which through her own contacts and networks she is frequently instructed to advise or provide direction on.
She has also provided advice on privacy and data protection;
As a Public Speaker Sheryl gives talks to both businesses and educational establishments on subjects ranging from law and legal compliance, effective communication skills, and female career progression.
Sheryl provides mentoring for young people from her home area through schools and other youth programmes;

Recent Testimonials

"Sheryl is a very strong leading junior and fearless in every way." Chambers UK 2026, Crime
"Nwosu's client service is second to none." Chambers UK 2026, Crime
"Nwosu did an excellent job in keeping a very difficult client very happy, and worked very hard." Chambers UK 2026, Crime
"She was great to work with." Chambers UK 2026, Crime
"Sheryl is a first class brief. She is not to be messed with and is a formidable advocate." Legal 500 2026, Crime
"She is very charming and has a very good manner." Chambers UK 2025, Crime
"She provides outstanding client care by thoroughly explaining the case details to her clients and provides excellent representation in court." Chambers UK 2025, Crime
"Sheryl's case preparation is excellent as is her knowledge and understanding of the law. She relates extremely well to both professional and lay clients. Her tactical judgment is also excellent as is her written work. Her advocacy is clear, precise and to the point." Legal 500 2025, Crime
"A passionate advocate who always goes the extra mile for her clients." Chambers UK 2024, Crime
"She conveys the case theory effectively to the clients and tells the story well to the jury." Chambers UK 2024, Crime
"She has real people skills and is very good at looking at problems in novel ways." Chambers UK 2024, Crime
"Sheryl is passionate and committed. She thinks hard about her cases and is shrewd enough to vary her tactics as the circumstances demand. She also has the rare ability to ensure her audience is absorbed by her advocacy." Legal 500 2024, Crime
"She knows the law and understands how to deal with young people with learning difficulties and those who are vulnerable to exploitation." Chambers UK 2022
"As an advocate Sheryl’s submissions and legal arguments are always artfully drafted and delivered. Judges are persuaded to her legal submissions even if they have been initially been against her. Not just the persuasiveness of her oral advocacy but also her manner of delivery are impressive — detailed, but broken down and carefully analysed against the law and fact so that no points are left unanswered." Legal 500 2022, Crime
"Fabulous, charismatic and certainly on the money when it comes to putting together legal arguments and cross-examinations." Chambers UK 2021
"She is very engaging in court" Chambers UK 2021
"Sheryl is very engaging and excellent at forging professional relationships with clients and other lawyers." Legal 500 2021
"She is hard working and is quick to grasp the key points upon which to form a case strategy." Legal 500 2021
"She has a great ability to think on her feet in court and adapt her advocacy style to the witness before her, making her an excellent cross-examiner." Legal 500 2020

Professional Memberships

Middle Temple
British Association for Sport and Law (BASL)
Women in Criminal Law
Criminal Bar Association

HOMICIDE

R v AL (a child) & Another: Led junior for child charged with murder along with one other.
R v DM (CCC): Led junior for defendant charged with murder arising out of a fight in a London park.
R v BK & Others: Led junior for one of four young men charged with the murder of a man in an estate in London.
R v UR & Another: Led junior for defendant charged with murder the stabbing of a man following a chance encounter which led to a fight in a London street.
R v TC: Led junior for young woman charged with murder of a man who had robbed ; the murder had its background in drug dealing
R v JN (CCC): Led junior for a defendant charged with four separate conspiracies to murder and attempted murder following a spate of shootings in south London.
R v AW & Others (CCC): Led junior for defendant charged with murder and attempted murder, described as an “assassination” in a London street.
R v RT & Another (CCC): Led junior for young defendant charged with murder where the defendant was charged with these offences following the conclusion of a first trial concerning four other defendants. He was tried with another defendant (retried following the first trial) where a cut-throat defence developed; the defendant was acquitted.
R v DF: Led junior representing defendant charged with murder of her neighbour following a 5-year neighbour dispute; ran defence of diminished responsibility. Press Link
R v KS (a child) & Another: Led junior for child defendant charged with a joint participation murder. Acquitted of murder, convicted manslaughter; followed by a successful appeal on length of sentence.
R v KA & Others (CCC): Led junior instructed on behalf of first defendant in a murder within a prison – acquitted following a successful half-time submission.
R v AW & Others (CCC): Led junior for a 14-year-old defendant charged with murder.
R v IJ & Others (CCC): Led Junior for the first defendant in multi-handed murder, deft convicted of manslaughter.
R v SS & Another (CCC): Led junior in 2-handed murder trial representing 15-year-old (first) defendant. The retrial on the murder, in which Ms Nwosu remained junior counsel, resulted in a further hung jury. In these circumstances the Crown sought a further retrial, this decision triggered extensive written legal submissions being drafted on behalf of the young defendant by Ms Nwosu and Queen’s Counsel instructed in the retrial leading to a determination that the Crown could not seek a second retrial.
R v AE: Led junior on ‘historical’ murder where the accused was extradited from Nigeria 14 years after the offence. Ms Nwosu was instructed to advise on this case, pre-extradition stage, through legal contacts in Nigeria. She liaised closely with a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) dealing with matters relating to his arrest in Nigeria and extradition and was then instructed by the defendant to act for him in the UK. SN conducted the recent successful appeal out of time pursued at the CoA to apply time spent awaiting extradition.
R v B: Led junior on murder case where defence was diminished responsibility;
R v LT: Acting alone for sole defendant charged with attempted murder – using machete in street fight.
R v SJ & Others (CCC): Led Junior for a 16-year-old girl, dubbed the “honey-trap” in multi-handed youth “gang” murder. Ms Nwosu was instructed in part due to her known mentorship of young black girls from inner-city communities. The case was highly publicised and nick-named the 'Honey Trap murder’ in press and subsequent dramatic docu-dramas. Press Link

SERIOUS VIOLENCE

R v WM (CCC): Acting alone for a defendant charged with attempted murder of a police officer.
R v LF (CCC): Acting alone for a defendant with a history of mental health difficulties charged with attempted murder.
R v RT (CCC): Sole junior for young person charged with attempted murder following a stabbing at the Notting Hill Carnival.
R v TK & Others: Successful defence of defendant charged with conspiracy to murder.
R v WD: Sole junior for D1 of eight defendants charged with s.18 and violent disorder in a YOI.
R v MS & Others (CCC): Successful defence of a defendant charged with Perverting the course of Justice in relation to a hidden body murder.
R v SW & Others: Led junior for one of three defendants charged with attempted murder following a shooting at a party.
R v RP & Others: Leading junior for defendant charged with attempted murder following a shooting in central London. The case also involved the alleged transfer and disposal of the weapon used and a co-joined conspiracy of possession of firearms, silencers and ammunition for use.
R v OH & Another (CCC): Armed Robbery; successful defence of defendant charged with a violent armed robbery.
R v RD & Another: Armed robbery; successful defence of defendant charged with armed robbery despite positive identification evidence.
R v DL: Acting alone for defendant charged with rape and attempted murder of a teenage friend.
R v UI & Another: Acting alone for one of two defendants charged with attempted murder.
R v CD & Others: Sole junior in a multi-handed attempted murder;

MULTI-HANDED CONSPIRACIES

R v EA & Others: Multi-handed drug conspiracy involving hundreds of kilograms of drugs being supply by an alleged Albanian network throughout London and surrounding areas.
R v LV & Others: Leading Junior for defendant charged with 5-handed conspiracy relating to possession with intent to endanger life of live firearms and ammunition; arising from surveillance operations of a group of men and their movements and activities up to the date of and including in and around the Notting Hill Carnival.
R v VD & Others: Leading junior for defendant number one in a seven handed conspiracy to traffic Romanian nationals to the UK for exploitation; where there was a further conspiracy in relation to money laundering offences.
R v BL & Others: Sole junior in multi-handed drug, county line conspiracy; at the conclusion of the trial and following legal argument re imposition of a Criminal Behaviour Order, the order was successfully resisted.
R v DT & Others: Led junior in multi-handed drug conspiracy, representing the youngest defendant (a youth) in a case which had involved a killing occurring at an address which the defendant was at the time – successful legal argument to exclude that evidence.
R v CR & Others: Leading junior representing the so-called “Mr Big” in a large-scale drugs conspiracy in the Midlands.
R v M & Others: Representing foreign defendant charged in a multi-handed £33 million cocaine airport importation conspiracy
R v R & Others: Led junior on wide scale drugs (mule) importation case involving recorded intercept evidence and PII issues
R v EU & Others: Instructed for the first defendant in a multi-handed importation conspiracy to import firearms and drugs from the Continent.
R v RO & Others: Instructed on behalf of the first defendant in a multi-handed firearm conspiracy.
R v CB & Others: Successful defence of defendant charged in a conspiracy to transfer firearms. Defendant travelling in a taxi subject to a ‘hard stop’ by police who retrieved a recently collected firearm hidden in the vehicle.
R v RL: Successful defence of defendant charged with firearm possession offences despite what was described as "overwhelming" DNA and fingerprint evidence. Acquittal followed careful cross-examination of expert witnesses on forensic evidence and scene of crime failures.

SEXUAL OFFENCES

R v AA: Leading junior for defendant charged with serious sexual offending spanning over a decade which are alleged to have occurred within a church.
R v WH: Successful defence of US Air Force charged with rape in the UK.
R v AW: Successful defence of first defendant of two in a high-profile case alleging the rape of two complainants.
R v AO: Successful defence of a defendant charged with rape of an acquaintance in a car following the chance meeting of the complainant in a nightclub.
R v RD & Others: Defending in multi-complainant, multi-defendant historic rape and sexual assault trial.
R v B: Father charged with sexual assaults against his teenage daughter.
R v MD: Defendant was a looked-after child charged with rape of 8-year-old boy two years prior to the allegation being made; defendant acquitted.
R v DL: Representing a young defendant charged with multiple rapes of a stranger; defendant acquitted.

R v GF & Others: Case alleging computer misuse and intentional financial damage to a company.
R v M & M: Represented the wife of the first defendant charged with defrauding his elderly father suffering from dementia.
R v R & Others: Represented one of three defendants accused of Conspiracy to commit Fraud by False representation spanning a period of 4 years.
R v A & Others: High value sophisticated banking fraud involving breach of several companies’ online security.
R v DF & Others (CCC): "Insider job" banking fraud - Represented one of three defendants accused of banking fraud.
R v CQ & Others: High value "Insider job" rail company fraud - Represented one of four defendants (employee) charged with fraud by abuse of position spanning a period of 5 years; case involved consideration of the integrity of the company's computing and ticketing systems.
R v SD: Alleged "sophisticated" fraud committed within a major high store retail chain; all charges dismissed against defendant following legal argument.
R v K & Others: Successfully defended in an alleged student loan fraud in which through dissection of the evidence the Crown were unable to prove the chain of alleged fraud against this defendant.
R v N: Mortgage fraud case.
R v KN & Others: "Insider job" SS fraud – successful defence of one of six defendants accused of SS fraud involving manipulation of internal computer systems by employees; case involved voluminous electronic material relating to internal computing systems.