Criminal Defence

8118 Law accepts instructions to represent clients for all criminal cases in either the Magistrates’ or Crown Court. From road traffic offences such as speeding, driving under the influence and dangerous driving, to cases of ABH and GBH, drug possession or intent to supply, or even sexual offences such as rape. Whether your case requires a brief appearance at the Magistrates’ Court or is a complex and lengthy case in the Crown Court, or whether you wish to appeal from either the Magistrates’ Court to the Crown court, or from the Crown Court to the Court of Appeal, help is only a telephone call away.

Direct Access Barrister – No Solicitor Required

This is possible because the barrister is authorised to conduct litigation, and can even go on the court record and handle the day-to-day running of your case. This can lead to savings of thousands of pounds, ensures that you will have a single point of contact throughout the life of your case, and gives you the peace of mind that the person who is representing you has been with you throughout.

Legal Aid

Instructions are accepted regardless of whether you have been granted legal aid and already have a solicitor, or where you choose to pay privately and instruct directly. If you are unsure about whether you might be eligible for legal aid, you can call today for advice and be sure that you will be put in touch or directed to a firm to obtain legal aid if available.

Legal Aid or Private Funding

Legal aid is where the state will fund your case and pay your legal representatives directly. It is usually means or merit tested, and not everyone qualifies. If you do qualify, you may be asked to pay a contribution towards your legal costs. If you choose to privately pay, the amount you pay may end up being less than the contribution you are asked to make by the legal aid agency.

Legal representatives are poorly paid for criminal legal aid cases. Most firms must take on a high volume of cases to survive. This means your legal representative cannot devote as much time to your case as he otherwise could. At 8118 Law, fewer cases are taken-on to ensure more time can be dedicated to each client’s case than a busy solicitor’s firm which may have hundreds of other cases to deal with.

Because legal aid is state funding, there are restrictions and limitations on what your legal representatives will be paid to do for you.

• Additional conferences with your legal team are not always funded by the legal aid agency.
• You will not always be able to instruct a private investigator, and particularly if the one you choose charges more than is authorised by the legal aid agency.
• You will not always be able to arrange for your legal team to be funded to visit the crime scene location or for them to gather additional video footage or other evidence to be used in support of your case.
• The legal aid agency will not always fund additional expert reports which you may wish to use as part of your evidence.

No such restrictions or limitations exist when you fund your own legal case.

• You can have additional and as many conferences with your legal team as you might need.
• You can ask your legal representatives to instruct a private investigator to run additional background checks.
• Your legal team can attend and obtain additional video footage of the crime-scene location or other evidence to support your case.
• You can instruct additional expert reports of your own choosing.

Legal aid is usually only available through a solicitor. It will then be the solicitor who instructs the barrister on your behalf. If you want the barrister to represent you through legal aid or via a solicitor, you should ask your solicitor to get in touch by calling 0345 257 1981 as soon as possible.

Regardless of whether you instruct directly or through a solicitor:

• You will be offered free initial telephone advice.
• Every client is guaranteed the offer of a conference with the barrister before their court hearing.
• The barrister will try to make himself available for conferences at a time that suits you.
• You can communicate with the barrister by phone, e-mail, WhatsApp, MS Teams, or Zoom.

CALL FOR YOUR FREE CONSULTATION TODAY ON 0345 257 1981