Jake regularly appears in high-profile and complex criminal cases.

Recent examples of instructions include:

• R v JS [2024] - Ongoing allegation of stalking a serving Circuit Judge over a five-year period tried by a High Court judge. The case involves numerous legal arguments relating to protected speech under Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights.
• R v KR [2024] - Ongoing allegation of manslaughter relating to the death of a 9-month year old baby by a nursery nurse.
• R V SC [2024] - Ongoing murder and attempted murder allegation following a dispute caught on CCTV where two complainants were stabbed.
• R v Jobe [2023] - Double murder allegation of two 16 year olds in South London during an alleged gang-related “ride out”. The trial involved admissibility arguments concerning extensive prison calls where admissions we made.
• R v Eretbi [2023] - Jake appeared as leading counsel (leading counsel from 2 Bedford Row) in an attempted murder trial, and successfully argued that the prosecution should be stayed as an abuse of process.
• R v Porter [2022] - Ongoing murder said to be an execution of a witness in a previous prosecution against the co-defendant and involving extradition of the defendant from Ireland to stand trial in the UK (led by Liam Walker KC).
• Operation Canterbury [2021] - Sensitive prosecution of corruption involving a former employee of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Cayman Islands relating to the unlawful concealing and deletion of prosecution case files.
• Operation Icicle [2021] - First of its kind investigation into cross-border money laundering involving the concealing and layering of the proceeds of a largescale banking fraud by the former Head of State of a foreign jurisdiction said to of defrauded the banking sector of 20% of the Nation’s GDP, utilising a Cayman Islands exempt entity.
• Operation Whirlwind [2021] - Investigation into the head of an organised crime group for various offences including standalone money laundering charges.
• Operation Exeter [2020] - Corruption involving a former government employee providing access to sensitive government documents for financial gain.
• R v McStravick & Still [2019] - Appeared unled in a cut-throat attempted murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life following a domestic shooting incident, tried by a High Court judge.
• Operation Ebony [2019] - Multi-handed conspiracy to supply Class A drugs based primarily on extensive cell-site and telephone evidence.
• R v MF [2019] - Defence of a severely disabled man accused of historic sexual offending involving the instruction of five separate defence medical experts (led by Liam Walker).
• R v Pixley [2018] - Multi-handed allegation of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and violent disorder following an alleged gang dispute.
• R v Eastgate & Others [2018] - Large complex international conspiracy to import and supply Class A drugs, involving multijurisdictional allegations over a five year period and where the defendant is currently serving a 21-year sentence (led by Rebecca Trowler KC).
• R v Saunders & Others [2018] - £90 million confiscation matter, involving cut-throat allegations of transfer of criminal property, following guilty pleas to fraud (led by David Bentley KC).
• R v Donnelly [2017] - Murder of a woman following an arranged meet up on an internet dating website. See BBC article here (led by David Hislop KC).
• R v Zaman & others [2017] - Conspiracy to burgle, steal and launder the proceeds of £3 million worth of vehicles. Reported as the ‘Gone in 60 Seconds Conspiracy’ (led by Garry Green).

• HMRC v JS [2024] - Ongoing 51 separate charges of fraud relating to alleged false claims.
• R v SP [2024] - Allegation of international import and export fraud between India, the UK and the USA.
• Operation Canterbury [2021] - Sensitive prosecution of corruption involving a former employee of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Cayman Islands relating to the unlawful concealing and deletion of prosecution case files.
• Operation Icicle [2021] - First of its kind investigation into cross-border money laundering involving the concealing and layering of the proceeds of a largescale banking fraud by the former Head of State of a foreign jurisdiction said to of defrauded the banking sector of 20% of the Nation’s GDP, utilising a Cayman Islands exempt entity.
• Operation Whirlwind [2021] - Investigation into the head of an organised crime group for various offences including standalone money laundering charges.
• Operation Exeter [2020] - Corruption involving a former government employee providing access to sensitive government documents for financial gain.
• SFO v Saunders & Others [2019] - £90 million confiscation matter, involving cut-throat allegations of transfer of criminal property, following guilty pleas to fraud (led by David Bentley KC).

Jake advises on all manner of criminal appeals, and is committed to the abolishment of the death penalty worldwide. He accepts instructions to assist those seeking appeal their conviction or sentence in the UK, as well as those facing capital cases and bringing constitutional challenges to their detention. Jake has appeared in the Court of Appeal in England & Wales as well as in the Cayman Islands.

Recent examples of Jake’s appellate work include:

• R v NA [2024] Appeal relating to inconsistent jury findings and the approach to be taken by the sentencing judge in such circumstances.
• R v Liam Porter [2023] – Appeal against conviction for murder on the basis of proportionality and disparity of sentences
• R v Errington Webster [2021] – Precedent setting appeal concerning the costs framework for prosecution applications for costs following a significant delay in the prosecution’s appeal.
• R v Billy Newton [2017] – Ongoing appeal against conviction for murder, arising out of the changes to the joint enterprise principles
• R v Lawrence [2016] – Successful argument that a sentence of 11 years following a timely guilty plea for attempted armed robbery was manifestly excessive.
• R v Walshley [2016] – Successful appeal against conviction on the basis of a misapplication of the operation of Code D of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.
• The State v Kevin Burris – Privy Council appeal primarily based on the trial judge’s failure to deal properly with character evidence (led by Edward Fitzgerald KC and Amanda Clift-Matthews)
• The State v Jorge Crespo Gomez – Ongoing appeal concerning the lack of proper interpretation services provided during the trial
• Malaysia v Kevin Spears – Successfully argued that the death penalty should be commuted to a sentence of life in prison given the irregularities in the trial process
• Matovu & Others v Uganda – Constitutional challenge to the continued detention without trial of a member of an outlawed opposition political party (led by Joseph Middleton)

Jake sits as an Assistant for Inner West London.

In practice, he is regularly instructed to advise and assist families who have lost loved ones, and to represent them in Coroner’s Courts. Flowing from his experience in criminal courts and knowledge of medical and other expert evidence, he has a special interest in assisting families who seek answers through the inquest process in cases involving these aspects, as well as from police misconduct.

Recent examples of instructions include:

• Inquest touching upon the death of Leighton Dickens (article 2 inquest) – Jake represented the partner of the deceased who was present when he suffered a significant mental health crisis. Following contact with the police and medical professionals, the deceased was released and took his life. The inquest involved significant cross examination of police witnesses.
• Inquest touching upon the death of Kevin Haslen (Article 2 inquest) - Jake represented the family of a man who had attempted three previous serious suicide attempts which led to his sectioning under the Mental Health Act. He was released from a mental health facility directly into police custody and upon his release on bail and took his life. The jury found that missed opportunities and the lack of review by any trained mental health professional contributed to death.
• Inquest touching upon the death of Georgina Drinkwater – Jake represented Pauline Tio, the mother of the deceased. The case involved the death of a young mother-of-two who was five months pregnant. She died falling from the from third floor balcony of her flat in London moments after sending a text message saying that her partner was drunk and being aggressive towards her. The Coroner recorded a conclusion of ‘open verdict’ ensuring that the death was not deemed accidental or a misadventure.
• Inquest touching upon the death of Cara Lee Fanus – Jake assisted Sean Fanus, the father of the deceased, his 23-month year old daughter. The tragic case followed a criminal trial against the mother who was acquitted. The mother’s then boyfriend committed suicide in the run up to the trial.
• Prior to coming to the Bar, Jake worked for Birnberg Peirce Solicitors where he was part of the legal team representing 76 families of the 96 who died during the Hillsborough stadium disaster. In addition, Jake gained experience on the inquest into the death of Mark Duggan.

As a specialist financial crime prosecutor in the Cayman Islands (2020-2021) Jake led prosecutions of corruption and cross-border money laundering, working extensively with international partners including the United States, Switzerland and Panama. He advised the government of  the Cayman Islands on its treaty obligations, representing the administration at international forums and assisted in drafting a National Risk Assessment for the jurisdiction.

In 2020 Jake acted on behalf of the Civil Parties (victims) in responding to the appeal of a former Khmer Rouge leader, Khieu Samphan. He drafted significant aspects of the victims’ response to the Samphan Appeal Brief, dealing with international legal procedure, human rights principles and substantive international criminal law.

Between November 2016 and January 2017, Jake temporarily relocated to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, having been instructed as a junior to Richard Rogers and Professor Goran Sluiter in Case 004: The Prosecutor v Ao An at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (‘the Khmer Rouge Tribunal’). Ao An was alleged to have been one of the senior members of the Democratic Kampuchea regime and one of ‘those most responsible’ for alleged serious violations of international criminal law and Cambodian penal law during its 1975-1979 rule. The hybrid set up between a domestic and international court made the ECCC coupled with allegation of political interference meant that Jake’s work was extremely demanding and required fluency in both adversarial and inquisitorial law and procedure.

Jake previously worked as part of a defence team in The Hague for Wayne Jordash KC and Scott Martin on The Prosecutor v Stanišic & Simatovic at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The client, Jovica Stanišic, was the former head of the Serbian state security service. He was acquitted of all charges in 2013 (although this was overturned on appeal).

Jake additionally undertook advisory work in Tanzania at the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) assisting those taking test cases to be litigated before the court.

Jake is regularly instructed to advise and represent individuals whose extradition is sought.

Recent examples of instructions include:

• AS v Turkey [2024] - Ongoing challenge based on the breach of the duty of candour by the Turkish authorities (led by Edward Fitzgerald KC)
• CH v Austria [2024] - Ongoing challenge to extradition based on the political offence exception where previous discharge occurred (led by Steven Powles KC).
• Dmoch v Poland [2022] - Appeal concerning purported failure to conclude that the limitation periods had not expired for three of the allegations and the relevance of these to any Article 8 claim.
• Hungary v Imre [2018] - Appeal concerning the validity of an accusation warrant where the court becomes aware that the requested person has subsequently been convicted (led by Mark Summers KC)
• Italy v Vucaj [2017] - Appeal concerning when the decision to charge is made under Italian procedure when extradition is sought under accusation warrants.
• Poland v Hajdukiewicz [2016] - High Court challenge on the approach taken in the lower courts when the extradition of a mother of a three-year-old child to serve a two year sentence for fraud was ordered, and whether this was disproportionate.
• Poland v Steffan [2016] - successful discharge from a conviction warrant following a contested hearing based on the requested person’s family situation.
• Germany v Belgrave [2016] - Complex case involving 12 separate offences where forum and double jeopardy arguments were raised on the requested person’s behalf. The requested person was discharged on 11 of 12 offences.

Jake’s practice encompasses advice and representation to individuals and entities seeking advice on compliance, licensing and challenges to sanctions regimes. Jake also provides representation in investigations and enforcement proceedings.  

He has previously advised the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office on the Russian sanctions regime.

Jake has acted in sanctions and cross-border cases, advising and representing designated persons in reviews and challenges FCDO designations.

Jake has considerable experience in the fields of healthcare regulation and professional discipline. He comes highly recommended by the award-winning NHS Practitioner Health Programme for his clear, professional and comprehensive advice. He regularly represents those who have self-referred with issues arising from mental health concerns and addiction. Jake is able to advise and guide those who face allegations through the various processes and appears before Interim Order Committees, Professional Conduct and Health Committees.

Recent examples of Jake’s regulatory case matters include:

• A University v NA – Allegation of campus based sexual assault.
• GMC v PW – Allegations of sexual impropriety with a patient.
• GMC v PV – Doctor convicted of indecent exposure. Successfully argued for suspension, as opposed to erasure from the medical register. PV’s subsequent return to practice without conditions was secured.
• GMC v HA – Advised a doctor investigated for dishonesty in relation to his medical qualifications during the preliminary investigation stage
• HCPC v TM – Successfully argued for the early reinstatement of a physiotherapist to practice, following the imposition of a period of suspension
• HCPC v SS – challenging allegations relating to clinical skills of a physiotherapist Given his experience and aptitude for drafting, Jake is instructed to advise and represent in crime-related judicial reviews, including:
• Mackie v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis – Challenge to the continued retention of a police caution on behalf of a wealthy entrepreneur who was unable to take up a ‘green card’ in the United States (led by David Hislop KC)
• Shorey v The Criminal Cases Review Commission – Challenging the decision of the CCRC not to open an investigation on behalf of a convicted double murderer Public Law