Business Defence
The Johnson Partnership regularly provide advice and assistance to defend clients being investigated or prosecuted in connection with matters of fraud, financial irregularity, issues arising out of someone’s position as a director and many other matters of complex business crime.
The department is headed up by Nicola Hornby, Aaron Watson-Weinberg and Sian Barber. They are backed up by a team of paralegals including Andrea Cowie, Burhan Hussain and Courtney Delaney.
The department has members who specialise in assisting clients who are subject to Proceeds of Crime investigations. This team can also help clients who have been made subject to a Proceeds of Crime Order who now find that applications are being made for new assets to be forfeited, even though the Order was made many years ago.
Prosecutions by BEIS, HMRC, Trading Standards Departments, FACT, DEFRA, the Health & Safety Executive, and a vast range of other supervisory and prosecuting authorities come the way of our specialist team.
In addition, clients facing proceedings before their regulatory bodies such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the SRA, the GMC, etc., are able to call on the assistance of the department along with one of our most experienced Partners Mr John Wilford. As well as members of the medical profession, we have assisted teachers, pharmacists, vets, local government officers, police officers and many more besides who have had problems with their regulatory bodies.
We can also help with representations in person or in writing to help with disciplinary proceedings brought by sporting bodies such as the FA, the RFU, the ABA, and the Boxing Board of Control.
Legal aid may well be available for much of the department’s work, but where a matter is not within the scope of the Legal Aid Scheme, we are always happy to negotiate up front fees at a competitive rate.
In The Police Station
At The Johnson Partnership we have a large number of qualified and experienced police station advisors in Sheffield. Our objective is always to try to ensure the case finishes sooner rather than later and ideally without having to go to court.
Whether you have just been arrested and taken to the police station or whether the police have asked you to attend an interview as a volunteer, we have someone on standby to help. We aim to gather as much information as possible from the police before discussing the inquiry with you and advising how the interview should be tackled.
At Court
If you have been charged and bailed to go to court in Sheffield or received a postal requisition – something that many of us would know as a summons – we can help! In less serious cases, such as motoring prosecutions, it may be that the most cost-effective way is to deal with matters by making written representations to the court. In many other cases it will be necessary for a solicitor to appear in person to make sure that you get the best outcome.
If either you, or somebody close to you, has been arrested by the police and held for court, we can have expert advocacy assistance available at short notice to try to ensure firstly that you are granted bail and secondly that the case proceeds to the best possible outcome in the shortest possible time.
In addition to representation in the Magistrates’ Court, we have our own in-house team of Higher Courts Advocates and barristers to provide a seamless service from the police station to the Court of Appeal. As well as our own in-house advocates we have a range of handpicked Counsel from Chambers throughout the country, who we regularly instruct on behalf of our clients where specialist help is required. Our friends at Castle Gate Chambers, High Pavement Chambers, King Charles House/Garden Square Chambers, Bedford Row, Bank House, St John’s Buildings, and Exchange Chambers have worked with the firm over many years.
Finding The Right Solicitor In Sheffield
We are happy to try to make sure that you have the right solicitor for your needs. If you need to be seen quickly, we can often arrange same-day appointments. If you prefer to be dealt with by a man or a woman, we would be happy to oblige. We have a number of colleagues who speak European and African languages, as well as various languages and dialects from the Indian subcontinent. If you need to be seen at an unusual time to fit in with your working pattern, or you would prefer to be visited either at home or at work or in hospital, we can make the necessary arrangements. Let us know your own needs and we will try to help!
The Johnson Partnership are one of the largest Criminal Defence solicitors in the country. Centred in the Midlands and North we still represent clients in police stations and courts throughout the country. The use of video technology has made long distance representation a common feature of everyday life.
We currently have cases before courts in places as far away as Truro, Cardiff, Canterbury, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Norwich, Liverpool, Newcastle upon Tyne, Stoke, Leeds, Birmingham, Manchester, Southampton, Ipswich, Oxford, Cambridge, Peterborough, Bradford, and Hull. Wherever you are, feel free to make contact either by telephone or through our website for a face-to-face meeting, a video consultation or a telephone chat.