Legal aid brief

[terrifieddad]

Does anyone have any experience of Ben Jones, a barrier based in Liverpool?

The reason I ask is that in the short time since I was charged, he is the third barrister instructed to represent me.

[Itsnotallbad]

Hello,

Even though you are using legal aid,you have the right to approach any barrister you wish and ask if they can take the case on. Do your research. Most barristers based in london will travel all over the country.

In regards to 'Ben Jones' ,he seems to practice Some criminal law and some civil law. Have a look at his chambers webpage for more info.

Best of luck

[terrifieddad]

The problem is I'm on my third barrister already. From what I have heard, changing your legal team doesn't look good in court. With a little over 4 months until trial, the chances of finding a decent legal team that will be available are slim to none. What's worse is my solicitor never even informed me that a new barrister had been instructed. The only information regarding sexual offences for Mr Jones are successful prosecutions for sexual offence prevention orders - the first for an adult sexual offence! Doesn't bode well.

[Itsnotallbad]

Just a quick disclaimer. I'm not a legal expert so don't take my advice as such.

But my thoughts are this.

During my case between charge to trial i found out that my barrister couldn't actually do the trial date due to being double booked. I got my solicitor to draw up a list of possibilities and i made my choice.

If you have a bad feeling about him then get rid. You have one shot at clearing your name and you need to be happy with everything you have control over. I personally wouldn't pick this barrister as i don't think he'd have enough experience in my type of case to deal with any variables.

But the decision lies with you. I always went with my gut instinct,that way you can never blame anyone else.

[Itsnotallbad]

Also i changed my legal representation 4 weeks before trial. In these 4 weeks i saw my barrister twice and he knew my case inside out before we even met. You can still find a seriously good barrister!

[terrifieddad]

My case is such that sex is proven on at least one of the three counts. The accuser is my wife and there is clear proof of what a juror might perceive as sexual deviance - I was caught with another man in our hallway just under a year before my arrest. An issue further complicated by roleplay within our marriage. It will take a damn good barrister to cast enough doubt on her story for me not to be convicted, based on the cases I have read about.

The other side of things is that the clock is well and truly ticking on preparing a defence statement. From what I have been told, this pretty much sets in stone how I can defend myself. Finding alternative tactics at trial is often impossible if I get this wrong. Due to the complexity of the case, and the fact I have only a month to prepare my defence statement, you will understand why it is so urgent. I have less than four weeks to get this document produced which will get me 13-19 years if I get it wrong.

[Rights Fighter]

The sol has to prepare the Defence Case Statement first off.

Apologies if you have already said, but why have you had three barristers already?

Solicitor Chris who is based in Southport uses a guy called David Potter who is brilliant. I assume he would be local.....

With regards to the circumstances re the other guy - you need to remember that the jury is not made up of people who all go to church on a Sunday and who have committed no wrong. You may well end up with at least one person who is bi-sexual or bi-curious. A guy was recently found NG by the jury after admitting he was into sadomasochism and vampire activities.....

[terrifieddad]

Original barrister was unable to attend the plea hearing due to a trial overrunning. So I had a stand in for that. Now it transpires that the original can't represent me at all, due to a clash of trial dates. I believe a trial he was involved with collapsed and the retrial clashes with mine.

I am on legal aid and could never afford to go private. I have just a few weeks for the defence statement to be prepared, so it's fast becoming urgent. I am really not happy with my solicitor at the moment, but transferring the case to someone else might take too long and damage my defence.

[Rights Fighter]

I am fairly sure that David Potter works on legal aid too.

[Itsnotallbad]

Sorry for the slow reply but take a look at this guy. Very good and his case history speeks for it's self. He works all over the country on legal aid.

http://www.charterchambers.com/our-p...ic-thomas.html

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/nort...ed-sex-8888275

If you'd like other suggestions,then just ask. But just google as much as you can and get on the phone with your solicitor tomorrow and get them moving!

[Dstroyed Inside]

Help needed in Reading please...

Hi guys,

Sorry for the short message.

I have a FA dangling over my head that I want to resolve as it is tearing my life, my sons life and family apart.

Does anyone know of a great CLA in the Berkshire area?

Please advise and thank you in advance...

[slowdown73]

I live in Liverpool and I sought advice from David Phillips Solicitors. They have an office in Bootle. They were very professional and friendly and have a lot of experience in representing people who have been falsely accused. They do accept legal aid cases.

[Casehardened]

Hi guys,

Sorry for the short message.

I have a FA dangling over my head that I want to resolve as it is tearing my life, my sons life and family apart.

Does anyone know of a great CLA in the Berkshire area?

Please advise and thank you in advance...

[I've copied your post to the dedicated solicitors thread below; if you haven't already done so it might be worth you having a look through that thread for any suitable recommendations]


http://www.daftmoo.org.uk/mooforum/s...ist-solicitors