Search titles and summaries across our detailed guides and key service pages. Try “custody”, “confiscation”, “phone” or “unpaid invoice”.
Fraud & POCA
Guidance on frozen accounts and related proceedings.
Criminal defence
Assault by penetration under section 2 Sexual Offences Act 2003 is a serious indictable-only offence. The prosecution must prove intentional sexual penetration of the vagina or anus with a body part or object, lack of consent and absence of a reasonable belief in consent.
Police & investigations
Advice about bail, conditions and return dates.
Civil disputes & debts
A creditor can petition to make an individual debtor bankrupt where the qualifying debt is at least £5,000 and the statutory insolvency requirements are met. Bankruptcy is a collective insolvency process, not simply another form of judgment enforcement.
Criminal defence
A breach case starts with the exact wording of the restraining order. The prosecution must prove conduct prohibited by the order. Messages, indirect contact, location evidence and whether there was a reasonable excuse can all be central.
Criminal defence
Burglary allegations require careful analysis of entry, trespass, intention and what occurred inside the building. Cases may depend on CCTV, fingerprints or DNA, recovered property, phone/location data, identification and whether the defendant knew or was reckless as to being a trespasser.
Civil disputes & debts
A strong letter before action does more than demand payment. It identifies the legal basis of the debt, the correct debtor, the amount claimed, interest and compensation, the evidence relied on, the applicable pre-action regime and what will happen if payment is not made.
Police & investigations
If police tell you that your case has been referred to the Crown Prosecution Service for a charging decision, the investigation has reached a critical pre-charge stage. The CPS may authorise charge, request further investigation, provide early advice or conclude that the prosecution test is not met. The defence should establish what has actually been referred, what remains outstanding and whether focused evidence or representations can still properly be put forward before the decision is final.
Fraud & POCA
Advice about seized cash and forfeiture proceedings.
Civil disputes & debts
A County Court judgment is only useful if it produces payment. The enforcement route should be selected by reference to the debtor's assets and cashflow: goods, bank funds, property, wages, company information or another identifiable source of recovery.
Civil disputes & debts
A company served with a statutory demand cannot use the individual set-aside procedure. If the debt is disputed or insolvency pressure is otherwise improper, the company may need urgent advice about payment, agreement, administration or an application to restrain the creditor from presenting a winding-up petition.
Civil disputes & debts
A charging order can secure a judgment debt against a debtor's interest in land, property or certain other assets. It can protect the creditor's position for the future, but it does not normally turn the judgment into immediate cash and existing prior charges may materially reduce the value of the security.
Criminal defence
Child-cruelty allegations can concern assault, ill-treatment, neglect, abandonment, exposure or failure to protect. The prosecution must prove the defendant’s responsibility for the child, wilful conduct and the required likelihood of unnecessary suffering or injury to health.
Criminal defence
Common assault and battery cases often turn on a short encounter, but the legal issues can include whether force was used, whether immediate violence was apprehended, intention or recklessness, self-defence and the reliability of CCTV, body-worn video and witness accounts.
Criminal defence
Computer Misuse Act cases often turn on authorisation and digital attribution: what access was permitted, what exceeded that permission, which device or user performed the act and what the defendant intended. Technical logs require legal context, not assumption.
Criminal defence
Conspiracy prosecutions can involve drug supply, fraud, money laundering, robbery, violence and other serious offences. The prosecution case often reconstructs an alleged agreement from messages, calls, meetings, movements, finances and the conduct of several defendants. The defence must isolate what is actually said to prove this defendant knowingly joined the alleged agreement.
Civil disputes & debts
Where pre-action recovery fails, an unpaid commercial debt can be pursued by a County Court money claim. The claim must identify the correct defendant, legal basis, principal, interest and costs, and should be issued with an enforcement plan in mind rather than treating judgment as the end of the process.
Civil disputes & debts
When a debtor company enters administration or liquidation, the recovery strategy changes. Ordinary demands and enforcement may be restricted, and the creditor may need to deal directly with the insolvency practitioner, prove the debt, assess security or guarantees and decide whether any court application is commercially justified.
Criminal defence
Criminal-damage cases turn on what property was damaged, ownership, intention or recklessness and whether a lawful excuse applies. Where damage is caused by fire, the offence is charged as arson; aggravated forms require separate proof concerning danger to life.
Criminal defence
Police station funding, court eligibility and private work.
Criminal defence
Preparation, trial and representation in serious criminal cases.
Criminal defence
Dangerous-driving cases turn on an objective assessment of the standard of driving. Fatal cases add causation. CCTV, dashcam, vehicle data, road layout, visibility and expert reconstruction can be decisive.
Civil disputes & debts
Recovering business debts and choosing enforcement options.
Civil disputes & debts
A demand for payment is not the same as proof that the debt is due. Businesses facing a letter before action or County Court claim should identify the contractual basis, test the claimant's evidence, quantify any set-off or counterclaim and protect procedural deadlines before responding.
Civil disputes & debts
A demand under a personal guarantee should be checked against the actual document, the underlying company debt and the events said to trigger liability. Directors and guarantors may have arguments about scope, cap, execution, variation, notice, security, underlying liability or release that need to be assessed before payment is admitted.
Civil disputes & debts
When a debtor says an invoice is not payable, the case becomes a contract dispute rather than a simple collection exercise. The issue may be quality, delay, scope, variation, authority, set-off, counterclaim or the identity of the contracting party.
Criminal defence
Drug-possession allegations require proof of possession and the necessary knowledge. Finding a substance in a house, vehicle, bag or shared space does not by itself resolve who possessed it or what that person knew.
Criminal defence
Production and cultivation cases can range from alleged commercial operations to disputes about knowledge, premises and role. The defence should separate actual participation, indirect involvement, ownership or occupation of premises and what the defendant knew.
Criminal defence
An exposure allegation under section 66 Sexual Offences Act 2003 requires more than nudity or accidental exposure. The prosecution must prove intentional exposure of the genitals together with an intention that someone will see them and be caused alarm or distress.
Criminal defence
Firearms cases can turn on technical classification as much as possession. The defence needs to establish what the object legally is, what conduct is alleged, who possessed or controlled it, what the defendant knew, what licensing regime applies and whether forensic or expert evidence supports the charge.
Fraud & POCA
Advice on fraud allegations and financial evidence.
Fraud & POCA
Fraud by false representation turns on what representation was made, whether it was false or misleading, what the defendant knew, whether the conduct was dishonest and whether there was an intention to make a gain or cause loss or risk of loss.
Criminal defence
Handling stolen goods requires more than possession of property later shown to be stolen. The prosecution must prove the goods were stolen and that the defendant, otherwise than in the course of the stealing, dishonestly dealt with them while knowing or believing them to be stolen.
Civil disputes & debts
Some County Court money judgments can be enforced through the High Court by writ of control. Eligibility depends on the judgment amount and type; commercial value depends on whether the debtor has goods or trading assets against which enforcement can work.
Criminal defence
Twelve plain questions to compare criminal defence firms quickly, and the warning signs to watch for.
Police & investigations
A practical guide to access, copies, disputed entries and the documents that help explain what happened in custody.
Criminal defence
Intimate-image law has changed substantially. Current offences can cover sharing or threatening to share intimate photographs or films without consent, creating or requesting purported intimate images such as sexual deepfakes, and making or supplying certain intimate-image generators. The date of the alleged conduct and exact statutory route are critical.
Criminal defence
In a multi-defendant case, criminal responsibility must be proved against each person individually. “Joint enterprise” is commonly used to describe secondary liability, where someone who did not personally commit the substantive offence is alleged to have intentionally assisted or encouraged it.
Criminal defence
Kidnap and false imprisonment are serious common-law offences concerning personal liberty. Kidnap involves taking or carrying a person away by force or fraud without consent and lawful excuse; false imprisonment concerns unlawful intentional or reckless restraint of a person’s freedom of movement.
Criminal defence
Knife and weapon allegations depend on the precise item, where and how it was possessed, what the prosecution says the item was designed, adapted or intended for, and whether a statutory defence such as good reason or lawful authority is available.
Civil disputes & debts
Qualifying commercial debts can attract more than the unpaid principal. Depending on the contract and statutory regime, a creditor may be entitled to late-payment interest, fixed compensation and additional reasonable recovery costs.
Police & investigations
Police station advice is free under Legal Aid whatever your income. What that covers, what it does not, and when people choose to pay privately.
Civil disputes & debts
Recovering money from a limited company requires the right legal entity, a properly evidenced contractual debt and a realistic view of solvency. The route can move from pre-action correspondence to a County Court claim, enforcement or, for suitable undisputed debts, insolvency action.
Criminal defence
First hearings, procedure and representation.
Criminal defence
Every criminal case starts in the Magistrates' Court, but not every case stays there. Which court hears what, sentencing powers and the choices you may have.
Criminal defence
Online communications can engage several different criminal offences. The legal analysis depends on the exact words or image, whether a threat was credible, who sent it, the intended effect, the surrounding context and whether the conduct is better characterised as harassment, stalking, an intimate-image offence or another crime.
Criminal defence
Modern-slavery cases require careful distinction between alleged perpetrators and people who may themselves be victims of trafficking or exploitation. The Modern Slavery Act 2015 creates serious offences and also a section 45 defence in defined circumstances.
Fraud & POCA
Allegations involving criminal property and financial transactions.
Criminal defence
Homicide allegations require immediate, structured analysis of causation, intent, self-defence, forensic evidence and, where relevant, the statutory partial defences that can reduce murder to manslaughter. Manslaughter may also arise through gross negligence or an unlawful and dangerous act.
Civil disputes & debts
A charging order secures a judgment against property; it does not automatically force a sale. CPR 73.10C provides a separate route by which a person holding a charging order may ask the court to order sale of the property to enforce the charge.
Civil disputes & debts
When you have judgment but do not know what the debtor owns, the next sensible step may be information rather than blind enforcement. CPR Part 71 allows the court to require a judgment debtor — or an officer of a debtor company — to attend and provide information about means and assets.
Civil disputes & debts
Where a director or other individual has guaranteed a company's debt, the creditor may have a separate route against the guarantor. The wording, scope, trigger, cap, notice provisions and any security should be checked before enforcement begins.
Criminal defence
Perverting the course of justice is a serious common-law offence. The prosecution must prove a positive act or series of acts that had a tendency to pervert the course of public justice and was intended to do so. The underlying investigation or proceedings and the defendant’s intention are central.
Fraud & POCA
Benefit figures, available amount, restraint and asset disputes.
Fraud & POCA
Advice where assets are restrained during criminal proceedings.
Records & professional issues
Challenging cautions and considering record-deletion routes.
Records & professional issues
A police caution can create consequences long after the original investigation, particularly for solicitors, doctors, teachers, financial professionals and others whose work involves DBS checks or regulatory disclosure. We assess whether the caution may be eligible for deletion under the national Record Deletion Process, the evidential ground relied on and the separate effect on DBS or professional disclosure.
Police & investigations
A seized phone, laptop or storage device can become central to a criminal investigation and can also disrupt work, business and access to essential records. We identify the legal basis for the search and seizure, what was taken, how digital material is being examined, what evidence is actually relevant and whether return, access, copies or focused defence enquiries should be pursued.
Police & investigations
Understanding the stages of an investigation.
Police & investigations
Advice and representation during police detention and interview.
Police & investigations
Police interviews at West Midlands and Staffordshire Police custody suites, and voluntary interviews at local stations.
Police & investigations
Focused engagement about evidence and lines of enquiry.
Police & investigations
Legal and evidential submissions before a charging decision.
Criminal defence
Public-order allegations range from threatening or abusive conduct to affray and violent disorder. Charge selection depends on what was said or done, the level and context of any violence or threat, who was present and how CCTV, body-worn video and witness evidence depict the incident.
Criminal defence
Rape allegations require careful, offence-specific analysis of penetration, consent, reasonable belief in consent, identity where disputed and the surrounding chronology. Modern RASSO investigations can involve extensive communications, digital evidence, CCTV, location material, witnesses and third-party records.
Police & investigations
Understanding your position while the investigation continues.
Police & investigations
After an interview the police may release you on bail or under investigation. Conditions, time limits and what you can do while you wait.
Civil disputes & debts
A business receiving a solicitor's demand should not ignore it or send an unstructured admission. The response should identify what is admitted, what is disputed, why, what documents support that position and whether settlement or ADR can avoid proceedings.
Criminal defence
Robbery combines theft with force or the threat of force used immediately before or at the time of stealing and in order to steal. Defence preparation often focuses on identification, what property was taken, the timing and purpose of any force, CCTV, phone or location evidence and the role attributed to each suspect.
Civil disputes & debts
A default judgment can sometimes be set aside where it was wrongly entered, where the defendant has a real prospect of successfully defending the claim, or where there is another good reason to reopen the case. Prompt action is expressly relevant under CPR Part 13.
Criminal defence
Sexual activity with a child offences are age-specific. The legal elements differ depending on the age of the child and the precise conduct alleged. In cases involving a child aged 13 to 15, reasonable belief that the child was 16 or over can be a central statutory issue.
Criminal defence
Discreet defence for sexual assault allegations from first police contact through interview, pre-charge investigation and court proceedings. These cases can turn on consent, reasonable belief, communications, chronology and the surrounding evidence rather than a single piece of proof.
Criminal defence
Section 15A Sexual Offences Act 2003 criminalises specified sexual communications by an adult with a child under 16 for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification. Investigations are usually digital and can turn on age, account attribution, the meaning of the communication and the alleged sexual purpose.
Records & professional issues
A caution avoids court but needs an admission and stays on police records. What accepting one means for work and travel, and when to say no.
Civil disputes & debts
Recovering money from a sole trader is legally different from pursuing a limited company. The individual and the business are not separate legal persons, and the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims applies when a business creditor pursues an individual debtor, including a sole trader.
Civil disputes & debts
A statutory demand is an insolvency step, not simply a stronger debt letter. It can be effective for a clear, due and undisputed debt, but the consequences are serious and the route should be chosen only after considering ordinary civil proceedings and the debtor's solvency position.
Criminal defence
Theft allegations are not proved merely because property changed hands or was retained. The prosecution must establish the statutory elements of theft, including dishonesty, appropriation, property belonging to another and intention permanently to deprive.
Civil disputes & debts
A third-party debt order can intercept money owed to a judgment debtor by someone else, commonly funds held in a bank or building society account. It is a targeted remedy: useful where the creditor has credible information about the right third party and poor value where the application is speculative.
Civil disputes & debts
An unpaid invoice should be treated as an evidence and recovery problem, not just a chasing exercise. We identify the contractual basis of the debt, the correct debtor, any genuine dispute, the applicable pre-action regime, available interest and compensation, and the enforcement route most likely to produce payment.
Police & investigations
A voluntary interview is still an interview under caution. How it differs from arrest, what stays the same, and why advice matters either way.
Police & investigations
Preparing for attendance, disclosure and interview strategy.
Criminal defence
Voyeurism allegations depend on the precise conduct and statutory route: observing or recording a private act for sexual gratification, operating or installing equipment, or additional offences such as upskirting and voyeurism involving breastfeeding. Device evidence and intention are often central.
Police & investigations
Release, further enquiries and the route towards a charging decision.
Police & investigations
Understand what pre-interview disclosure should achieve, how gaps are addressed and why the information provided matters to your advice.
Civil disputes & debts
A winding-up petition is a company-insolvency procedure with serious consequences. It can be available where a company owes at least £750 and cannot pay, but it should not be used as a substitute for determining a genuinely disputed debt.
Criminal defence
Witness-intimidation allegations require careful separation of ordinary or legitimate contact from conduct intended to interfere with an investigation or proceedings. The identity and status of the witness, the defendant’s knowledge and the purpose of the alleged conduct are central.