Re: Very High Cost Case (Crime) Panel
Click Here to download the Garden Court Crime VHCC information pack
Click Here to request completed VHCC application forms and supporting evidence for Garden Court Counsel
We have prepared a comprehensive list of counsel in order to assist you with your bidding process. You will note that the information forwarded is compliant with the requirements of the Legal Services Commission. The deadline for applications to the Legal Services Commission to be on the Panel for Very High Cost Cases is Friday 27th July 2007.
Garden Court has been at the forefront of criminal defence work for the last 35 years. As one of the leading sets of chambers in the country, we have a range of exceptional criminal practitioners, QC's, Leading Juniors and Junior Counsel that have the skills, experience, capability and resources to meet the challenges ahead. The range of work carried out encompasses the entirety of the criminal code with many of our barristers regularly being instructed in cases involving fraud, terrorism and murder, as well as high profile court of appeal work and international criminal litigation.
You will note from the information enclosed that the vast majority of the team qualify under the desirable/essential criteria with only a few outside of the qualifying criteria. This is testimony in itself to our strength and depth of experience. The Legal Services Commission has made it clear that there is no limit to the number of advocates that a particular firm has in their legal team. Given the reputations of those who qualify at Garden Court, we have no doubt that your application will be enhanced if you include the members of Garden Court in your team. We also hope that consideration will be given to the few who have not met the criteria. There are very specific reasons why these individuals have not qualified. For example, Sareta Ashraph has been involved in a three-year war crimes case in Sierra Leone which is only now nearing conclusion.
In terms of the hourly preparation rates (£145 £150 £155) obviously the higher rate would be preferred by chambers. In the first instance, with all tenders the lower rate is likely to be successful. Obviously you want to achieve success with your bid to the Legal Services Commission VHCC panel. We therefore leave the choice of the hourly rate to your discerning judgment.
You can find the detailed CVs of all our barristers in the Crime section of this website. All case summaries and supporting evidence are available upon request including the Equal Opportunities Monitoring of Key Defence Team Members' Form and the Exclusion Criteria Form. Please note that should your bid include any of our barristers they will need to sign it individually (not electronic). Consequently, we would ask you to complete the bid in time for this process to be achieved. Our senior clerk, Colin Cook, would be more than happy to come to your offices and assist in the process in any way that he can, leading up to the deadline. If you wish for any further information in respect of any individual please call us on 020 7993 7624
Colin Cook - Senior Clerk
colinc@gclaw.co.uk
Direct Dial - 020 7993 7620
