William
Hughes
WilliamHughes QC
(1976-1983) has been a barrister for twenty four years,
specialising in criminal cases. In Defence, he specialises in homicide, serious sexual
offences and other grave crime, particularly those cases with vulnerable defendants
and witnesses. He is a specialist in fraud, money laundering and drug-related crime. He
also has considerable experience representing the interests of serving police officers in
criminal allegations, internal disciplinary tribunals and inquests.
In Prosecution, he is regularly instructed by the CPS, in particular undertaking
SOCA prosecutions on behalf of the CPS Organised Crime Division. As well as
his experience defending cases of fraud and drug-related crime he is also regularly
instructed to prosecute on behalf of Westminster City Council and other London local
authorities. He is an Executive Committee Member Association of the LondonWelsh
Lawyers, a Committee Member of the Fraud Lawyers Association and a Gray’s Inn
Advocacy Trainer
Concordia
Merchant Taylors’ School
and obtained a pupillage (a year’s training
under the supervision of a senior barrister)
at my present London Chambers. (I also
practise fromChambers in Cardiff, where
my family originate from). So, aside from
dressing up in an anachronistic horsehair
wig atopmy head, swathed in a fancy gown
while swanning around the Courts of the
land, what is it that I do?
For twenty-four years I have both
defended and prosecuted in cases of varying
seriousness, complexity and notoriety, which
is as taxing, exhilarating, draining, thrilling
and ultimately satisfying as it may appear.
So how does it work? Barristers are self-
employed advocates who are generally (but
not always) briefed to undertake cases by
solicitors, who are in turn instructed by the
lay (legally unqualified) client. Thereafter,
it has historically been the case that the
barrister will undertake court appearances
on behalf of the client and appear as his or
her advocate in the trial proceedings.
Like any other occupation with which
responsibility follows, being able to
make difficult, unpopular and unpleasant
decisions is part of the job. Being the
ultimate advocate and the person in
charge of how a case is prepared and
undertaken has its own pressures and
difficulties. It means that care and
consideration in decision making have
to be undertaken in as equal measure as
preparation of the case itself.
However, what sets this profession apart
from almost any other job is the adrenaline
rush experienced in conducting a trial, be
it before a jury, Justices or a Single Judge.
Jury trials, in the Crown Court particularly,
generate a unique combination of fear,
exhilaration, euphoria, anxiety and personal
empowerment in equal measure.
So what sort of cases do I actually do?
The question I, and probably every lawyer
I know, is asked is “How can you represent
someone you know is guilty?” The answer is
not straightforward, but my usual response
is that just because I represent someone
don’t recall it being suggested
to me in any school career talk that I
could be employed surviving on a diet
of dirty money, extreme violence, hard
drugs and lots of sex. (The possibility
of being a Premiership footballer was
not an option then and I wasn’t cool or
good enough to be the second guitarist
of the Clash, or indeed the Ramones).
However, that is how my working life
has turned out.
Since the autumn of 1989, when I was
called to the Bar of England andWales, I
have been practising as a barrister, which
is not something I ever expected to do,
or was even onmy radar when I left MTS
in 1983 with “underachieving” A levels.
Nonetheless, I subsequently ended up
gettingmy qualifying law degree from
Leicester Polytechnic, which enabledme to
study for the Bar at the Inns of Court School
of Law (as it was then called). After a year of
further study I passed the Bar final exams
I
