Criminal Law Department
The Criminal Law Department is headed by Vince Williams (Solicitor Advocate Higher Court Criminal). The firm’s Partners Richard Ambrose (a former member of the Legal Services Commission Funding Review Committee) and Ian Spender (a member of the South Wales Regional Duty Solicitor Committee) undertake specific cases as do Hywel Rees and James McKenna, all are qualified Duty Solicitors and also Graham McLennan who is an experienced Police Station Accredited Representative. Work is divided dependant on complexity and resources available. Felicity Lewis (a Trainee Solicitor), Joanna Lewis and Paul Biggerstaff are experienced team members who provides back up for our Advocates.
At the forefront of our field we were one of the first firms in South Wales to be granted a Franchise in Criminal Law by the Legal Services Commission in 1995. We have since grown to become one of the largest Criminal Law practices on the South Wales M4 corridor.
We operate a 24 hours on call scheme 365 days a year to ensure that any client of the firm who is arrested can call upon us to provide appropriate advice and representation.
Remember that if you are arrested by the Police and they propose to interview you we will attend upon you at the police station FREE OF CHARGE.
We know the Police Station can be an intimidating place so upon being advised you are in custody we will provide telephone advice to you within 15 minutes of initial notification of your arrest, to re-assure you of our involvement, prior to attending for any interview that the police propose to conduct. It is in your interests to be represented in a Police Station.
We have substantial experience in defending clients in all areas of Criminal law, from minor road traffic offences in the Magistrates Court to murder, manslaughter and large scale drug importation cases in the Crown Court. No matter how minor or significant the prosecution you face we will ensure you are provided with the best resources to handle your case in a professional manner, advising you of the law, your rights and any defence you may have to the offence alleged. Where you plead guilty to any offence we will also ensure that the Court is advised of all the relevant mitigating factors.
As a measure of the quality of the service we provide we are also frequently asked to accept agency instructions from other firms of solicitors to represent their clients.
Our office telephone numbers are 01639 881571 and 01639 882256.
Our Criminal Law department direct dial number is 01639 765676.
Our out of office contact number is 07789 798 798.
You may wish to make a note of our numbers or store them in your mobile telephone. In any event every Police Station has our contact details. Our full contact details are set out on our “Contact us” page. You can also e-mail the department direct at crime@howespender.co.uk.
Copyright © Howe & Spender Solicitors 2007
